Romans 10:5

In this and the following verses, he shows the great difference that is between the righteousness of the law and the righteousness of faith; and this difference is taught us in the books of Moses himself. As for the righteousness of the law, that is plainly described by Moses, Lev 18:5; and it tells us expressly: That the man who doth personally, perfectly, and constantly observe and do whatsoever the law requires, shall be rewarded with eternal life: see Rom 2:13, and the notes there. And on the contrary, it implies thus much: That whoso fails, or falls short, shall incur death and damnation. This also it declares in other places, Deu 27:26; Gal 3:10. This is a hard saying; who can hear it? It shuts us all out of heaven, it turns us into hell, it lays upon us impossible conditions. Let us hearken therefore to the righteousness of faith; of which in the next, see Rom 10:5

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Rom_10:5-11

For Moses describeth the righteousness of the law.

The righteousness of the law

I. Requires absolute obedience--

1. In every point.

2. In the spirit as in the letter.

3. In the past as in the future.

II. Is utterly impossible to man, because--

1. He is sinful.

2. Has actually sinned.

III. Is described by Moses to prepare us for Christ, and it discovers our--

1. Misery.

2. Helplessness.

3. Danger. (J. Lyth, D.D.)

The righteousness of the law and of faith

I. The righteousness of the law requires--

1. A sinless nature.

2. A perfect obedience.

II. The righteousness of faith requires--

1. No impossible achievements.

2. But a believing reception of the truth as it is in Jesus. (J. Lyth, D.D.)

The righteousness of the law and of faith

The apostle does not here oppose the covenant given by Moses to that given by Christ, for the latter as well as the former words were spoken by Moses concerning the covenant that then was (Deu_30:11-14). But it is the covenant of grace, which God through Christ has established with men in all ages that is here opposed to the covenant of works made with Adam in Paradise.

I. The righteousness which is of the law required--

1. That man should fulfil all righteousness inward and outward, negative and positive.

2. That this righteousness should be perfect in degree. No allowance could be made for falling short in any particular.

3. That it should be perfectly uninterrupted.

II. The righteousness which is of faith.

1. By this is meant that condition of justification which was given by God to fallen man through the mediation of Christ (Gen_3:15). It was a little more clearly revealed to Abraham (Gen_22:16; Gen_22:18), and more fully made known to Moses and the prophets; but it, was not fully brought to light until Christ came.

2. This covenant saith not to, sinful man, Perform unsinning obedience and live, or he would have no more benefit through Christ than if he were required to ascend into heaven, etc. This were to mock human weakness. Strictly speaking, the covenant of grace doth not require us to do anything, but only to believe (Gen_15:6; Rom_4:11; Rom_4:23-25).

3. What, then, saith this covenant of forgiveness? Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved. In the day that thou believest thou shalt surely live.

4. Now this word is nigh thee. The condition of life is plain, easy, always at hand. The moment that thou believest thou shalt be saved.

III. The difference between the two.

1. The one supposes him to whom it is given to be already happy and holy, and prescribes the condition wherein he may continue so; the other supposes him to be unholy and unhappy, and prescribes the condition wherein he may regain what he has lost.

2. The first in order to mans continuance in Gods favour prescribed a perfect obedience; the second-in order to mans recovery of Gods favour prescribes only faith.

3. The one required of Adam and his posterity to pay the price themselves, in consideration cf which they were to receive Gods blessing; in the other, seeing that we have nothing to pay, God frankly forgives us all, provided only we believe in Him who hath paid the price for us. The first required what is now afar off, the second what is nigh at hand.

IV. The folly of trusting in the righteousness which is of the law.

1. Those who do this set out wrong; their first step is a fundamental mistake; for before they can claim any blessing on the terms of this covenant they must suppose themselves in his state with whom it was made. And how foolish to forget that it was not given to man when dead in trespasses and sins, but when he was alive to God, and that it was never designed for the recovery of Gods favour, but only for the continuance thereof.

2. They do not consider what manner of obedience the law requires, nor their inability to perform it. What folly to offer our poor doings, mixed as they are with many sins, to Him who is strict to mark what is done amiss, and in whose sight no flesh living is justified.

V. The wisdom of submitting to the righteousness which is of God by faith. This appears from three considerations.

1. That it is acting according to truth and to the real nature of things. For what is it more than to acknowledge our sinfulness and helplessness.

2. That it is the righteousness of God--the method chosen by God Himself. Now as it is not meet for man to say unto God, What doest Thou? so it is true wisdom to acquiesce in whatever He has chosen.

3. That as it was of mere grace and undeserved mercy that God has vouchsafed to sinful man any way of reconciliation with Himself, whatever method He is pleased to appoint it is doubtless our wisdom to thankfully accept.

4. That it is wisdom to aim at the best end by the best means. Now the best end a fallen creature can pursue is happiness in God. But the best, nay the only, means of attaining this is submitting to the righteousness which is of God by faith.

Conclusion: Then do not say in thy heart--

1. I must first do this; conquer sin, go to church, etc., but first believe.

2. I am not good enough. Thou never wilt be till thou believe.

3. I am not sensible enough of my sins. It may be that God will make thee so by believing. (John Wesley, M.A.)

The two ways of salvation

Two ways to eternal life are here contrasted. The one is by doing; the other is by believing. The one by doing a full and finished righteousness for ourselves; the other by believing that Christ has done a full and sufficient righteousness for us. There are two places at which these respective ways may be compared with each other.

I. At the entrance of the two ways--when man, under the first effectual visitation of earnestness, resolves to go forth in busy search after the good of his eternity.

1. And here a consideration meets us at the very outset of the way of doing.

(1) It is he who doeth all things that shall live. Have we hitherto done all things:? It is not enough that there be the purpose of obedience in all time coming. Can we appeal to every hour of our bygone history, and confidently speak of each, having, without one flaw, been pervaded by those duteous conformities of a heart ever glowing with affection, and a hand ever glowing with activity, which the creature owes to the Creator who gave him birth? Should there be one single deed either of sin or of deficiency to soil the retrospect, it nullifies the enterprise.

(2) If the conscience be at all enlightened, this will be felt as a difficulty. The sense of a debt which no effort of ours can possibly lessen--of a guilt that by ourselves is wholly inexpiable--will paralyse the movements of a conscious sinner; and just because they paralyse his hopes. The likest thing to it in human experience is, when a decree of bankruptcy without a discharge has come forth on the man who has long struggled with his difficulties, and is now irrecoverably sunk under the weight of them. There is an effectual drag laid upon this mans activity. The spirit of industry dies within him when he finds that he can neither make aught for himself, nor, from the enormous mass of his obligations, make any sensible advances towards his liberation; and he either breaks forth into recklessness or is chilled into inactivity by despair.

2. From all this there is no release to the spiritual bankrupt, till the gospel puts its discharge into his hands. By this gospel there is a deed of amnesity made known, to which all are welcome. There is revealed to us a Surety who hath taken the whole of our debt upon Himself. And whereas in the way of doing, the very entrance was impracticably closed against us--this initial obstruction is entirely moved aside from the way of believing. Like the emancipated debtor to whom the fruits of all his future toil and diligence are now fully assured to him, a weight is taken off from the activities of nature. Our labour is no longer in vain--because now it is labour in the Lord; and every effort becomes a step in advance towards heaven.

II. After a man has set forth in the pursuit of this righteousness, and has made the weary struggle it may be of months or of years in order to attain it.

1. A thousand punctualities may be rendered, with the view to establish a merit in the eye of heavens Lawgiver, which never can be effectually done without a full and faultless adherence to Heavens law. Now, if conscience feel as it ought, there will throughout this whole process be an inappeasable disquietude--a self-dissatisfaction which no doings or deserts of our own can terminate. For, let it be observed, that, reach what elevation of virtue we may, the higher we proceed, we shall command a farther view of the spaces which still lie before us; or, in other words, we shall be more filled with a sense of the magnitude of our own shortcomings. The conscience, in fact, grows in sensibility, just as the conduct is more the object of our strict and scrupulous regulation. The presumptuous imagination of our sufficiency comes down when we thus bring it to the trial; and that impotency of which we were not aware at the outset, we are made to know and to feel experimentally. Meanwhile that is a sore drudgery in which we are implicated; and all the more fatiguing that it is so utterly fruitless. This is the grand failure. The hand can labour; but the heart cannot love. And after wasting and wearying ourselves with the operose drudgeries of a manifold observation, we still find that we are helpless defaulters from the first and the greatest commandment.

2. Now, it is when thus harassed, that the very outlet required is opened. The righteousness, which the sinner has so ineffectually tried to make out in his own person, has been already made out for him by another; and now lies for his acceptance. The sin, which hitherto has so hardened him with despondency and remorse, is now washed away by the blood of a satisfying expiation. What a mighty enlargement when the title-deed to heaven, for which he had been stretching forward with many long and laborious efforts, till he at last sunk down into exhaustion and despair, is put into his hand. He passes from death unto life. And when delivered from the burden of this felt impossibility, man breaks forth on a scene of enlargement; and with all the alacrity of an emancipated creature whose bonds have been loosed, he proceeds to offer the sacrifices of thanksgiving, and to call on the name of the Lord.

3. And let us not be afraid lest this judicial salvation should not bring a moral salvation in its train. The great author of that economy under which we live will sanctify as well as justify; and if we but trust in Christ, we shall be sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, who will superadd the personal to the judicial righteousness, and make us meet in character as well as meet in law for that heaven, the door whereof Christ hath opened to us. (T. Chalmers, D.D.)

The four witnesses

I. What moses saith (Rom_10:5). If you wish to be saved by the law you must do its commands and you shall live. The law is written in the ten commandments; you know them; and if you desire to live by them you must keep them. For not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified. Moses does not tone down the law to suit our fallen state, or talk of our doing our best and Gods being satisfied with our imperfect obedience if the law is once broken it is all over with you as to salvation thereby. You that hope to be saved by your works are indulging in a forlorn hope; whatever you may do or be in the future, the past has already ruined you. If you were to be saved by the law you should have begun without sin, continued without sin, and then it would be needful to end without sin. This is what Moses saith; hear it and be humbled.

II. What the gospel saith (Rom_10:6-9).

1. The gospel claims to be like the law in its clearness. Moses claimed for the law that it was within the range of their knowledge and understanding (Deu_30:11). The gospel says, Believe and live, quite as distinctly as Moses said, Do and live. No man doubts that if he had performed the law God would give him life; but it is equally certain that if we have believed in Christ we have eternal life.

2. It forbids the questions of despair. Say not in thine heart, Who shall ascend, etc. When a man is awakened to a sense of sin he cries, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? Surely it would need that I mount to heaven to own my sin, or dive to hell to bear my punishment. How is it possible that I can be saved? This wail of despair takes many forms: one man puts it thus, What doings can I perform by which I can be saved? Another, despairing of deliverance by his doings, runs upon his feelings. Now, the gospel forbids us to dream in this fashion. Say not even in thy heart that anything is wanted as to doings or feelings in order to complete the righteousness which is wrought out by Jesus. Ah, then the heart foolishly cries, I must know a great deal; as much as if I had been to heaven, or as if I had dived into the depths. No, you must not: the gospel is simple; easy as the A B C of your childhood. Say not in thine heart that thou must be made into a scholar. No, trust in the sinners Saviour, and you are saved. Another says, I must undergo a singular experience of heavenly delight, or hellish despair. No, the righteousness of faith lies only in reliance upon the work of Jesus finished for you.

3. The gospel translates these questions, and then answers them. A voice cries, Who shall ascend into heaven? The gospel replies, if you did what would you do there, without the Saviour? You say, Who shall descend into the deep? Listen. If you were to descend there, what would you do without Him whom God has anointed to save? If you find Him it will not much matter where you find Him, in heaven or in the deep, for He must be almighty everywhere. Thou sayest, Who shall ascend into heaven? Why? To bring Christ down? Hear this! Jesus has come down--to the manger, the Cross, the grave. And our salvation lies not in our descending, but in Christs descending. You need not bring up Christ again from the dead, for the Lord has risen indeed. And your hope lies wholly in what this Son of God did in His descent and ascent. Now, soul, thou hast nothing to do with asking vain questions; thou hast to accept the result of the Saviours actual performances.

4. The gospel declares this word of life by faith in the risen Christ to be near us. As your next door neighbours house is not hard to get at, so neither is salvation by the gospel.

III. What the Scripture saith (Rom_10:11).

1. That whosoever in all the world, throughout all the ages, shall trust on Christ shall never be ashamed of having done so; he shall never turn round on his dying bed, and cry, I made a mistake in trusting Christ. Cardinal Bellarmine thought that we might trust in our works; but admitted that inasmuch as no man could be sure that he had done enough, it was safest to trust altogether to the merits of Jesus. I have always felt obliged to the Cardinal for that admission; because the best is good enough for me.

2. That no man is forbidden to believe (Rom_10:12). There never was a sinner yet to whom God said, You must not trust My Son; on the contrary, it is written, Him that cometh to Me I will in no wise cast out.

3. That though your faith should only be strong enough to lead you to pray, yet it shall save you (Rom_10:13).

IV. What experience saith.

1. That it is the grandest way of living in the world.

(1) In times of doubt, distress and sinfulness.

(2) In times of jubilation and success. When God gives you growth in grace and fruitfulness in good works it will be your safety to trust in nothing but the work of the Lord.

2. That it enables men to face death with courage. (C. H. Spurgeon.)

But the righteousness which is of faith speaketh on this wise.

The righteousness of faith is

I. Relative.

1. The gift of God.

2. Through Christ.

II. Easy of attainment.

1. You have no great thing to do.

2. But simply believe.

III. Is sure. Thou shalt be saved. (J. Lyth, D.D.)

The righteousness of faith

The apostle employs a strong personification, investing the righteousness which is of faith with powers of speech in general, and of discriminative and persuasive speech in particular. The personified object is represented as of, i.e., from, faith. Not that it originates in or is identical with faith. It is conveyed to the soul of the recipient by faith, and as elsewhere represented is from God to be enjoyed by man on the condition of faith. If it were gifted with speech it would say to each man, Say not in thy heart, etc. No such effort is required. Men who have fallen into unrighteousness can be lifted up again. It is a great work. But it is not to be effected by some supernatural effort on the part of men themselves. They do not need, e.g., to soar aloft to find Christ and induce Him to come down to save. The indispensable supernatural forthputting of energy has already been put forth by one who is mighty to save to the uttermost, The apostle weaves the woof of the utterances of his personified pleader into the warp of some grand oratorical pleading addressed by Moses to the Israelites on the eve of his disappearance within the veil (Deu_30:11-14). In Rom_10:7 an alternative is oratorically introduced, not identical with that laid down by Moses, but substantially parallel. Moses spoke of going over the sea. But the apostle, for his peculiar purpose, modifies and intensifies the representation. He desired to make the way plain for introducing a reference to Christs resurrection; and hence he speaks of the world of the deceased, representing it, in one of its awesome aspects, as an abyss. Will it be needful to go down into that dismal region, which, as bottomless, has never been explored. Say not Who shall make that terrible descent? The personified righteousness continues to speak, and as it speaks it draws attention to the word in which it is conveyed to the soul. In Deuteronomy it is not righteousness that speaks, but Moses in Gods name. Hence there is no rhetorical personification, but the living personality of the lawgiver. And it is with, his own living voice that he specifies the commandment which God commanded, and says, It is not hidden, nor afar off, but nigh … that thou mayest do it. The word referred to is the commandment exhibiting the duty devolving on the Israelites. The apostles reference is different. The word with him is the gospel--the word of faith, so called because it is the object towards which faith points and in which it terminates. The gospel is a word, though not necessarily or generally a mere vocable. As there may be several vocables in a word of exhortation, so in the proclamation of the word of faith harmonious groups of vocables may be requisite. Sometimes, indeed, it may be condensed into a single one such as Jesus, Christ, propitiation, etc. But more frequently it expands itself into some such worded utterance as God so loved the world, etc. Let a man study till he understands this word; or let him master the vocables referred to, and a great light will dawn on his spirit. The personified pleader says of the word, It is near thee, in thy mouth, and in thy heart. It has been brought near by proclamation, or conversation, or by some kindred modification of instrumentality, or by some more subtle influence still. Men heedlessly utter gospel words with their mouths; and both before and after utterance, the words are in the heart or mind. Like other words, however, they have both a kernel and a husk; and too often is the attention occupied with the exterior to the neglect of the interior. (J. Morison, D.D.)

What saith the righteousness of faith?

Seek--

I. Not in heaven. Christ is here,

II. Not in the grave. Christ is risen.

III. Not afar off. Christ is nigh thee.

IV. In thy mouth, in thy heart, if thou canst but believe. (J. Lyth, D.D.)

The cry of the soul and the answer of the gospel

A man of poetic genius has ever a strong tendency to personifications. He gives life to dead things, thought and feeling to unconscious objects, and makes even dumb matter speak. Hence the apostle here personifies Christianity; he makes her speak to the men who are looking out in the distance for the good which stood in all its plenitude by their side. His description of Christianity here is simple, compendious, and expressive. He calls it the righteousness which is of faith, which means the system which is to make men right by believing in the heart. A heart-belief in the gospel makes men right--right in their spirit, motives, lives, relations. Note here--

I. The cry of the soul, Say not in thine heart, etc.

1. The spirit of this cry is identical throughout the race. What is it? It is a heart craving for some good in the external, the distant, and the supernatural. This craving explains much of the history of the ages.

2. The objects of this cry are various throughout the race. Whilst all cry for good, all do not cry for the same kind of good. The summum bonum varies with different men. The text implies that the men addressed are seeking the Messianic good, and crying out for Christ. This was the grand wish of the Jewish world. Christ is the desire of nations. If we analyse the cry we shall-find that it includes--

(1) A deep consciousness of want. Man is a needy creature, and the deepest need of man, as a sinner, is a Christ, some Divinely anointed one who shall make right his soul.

(2) Belief in the existence of a provision. Mans primitive notions of a God, and his experience of the fitness of the world to his physical needs, give him the conviction, that, wherever there is a deep want, there must be somewhere a Divine provision.

(3) A felt necessity of some agency to bring the provision near. Who shall ascend? The good is somewhere, who shall bring it near? What priest? What sage? What measures? What men?

II. The answer of the gospel.

1. The answer discourages this tendency. Say not in thine heart. Christianity discourages the tendency in man to look for good outside, far off, and in the miraculous; it bids him to look within, enjoy the near and the natural.

2. The answer reveals the provision. The word is nigh thee, etc. The good, to satisfy the deepest cravings of the human soul, is to be found in that Word which was made flesh and dwelt among us. Christ meets all the exigencies and aspirations of the soul, and He is near to every one who has the revelation. Near--

(1) In the Scriptures. The Scriptures are not far off from thee; not in distant lands, distant libraries, or churches, but in thy house, thy home, etc. They are they that testify of Him.

(2) In thy memory. Thou hast been taught the biography of Christ, etc. Thoughts of Him are constantly coming up to thee, Nay, it is even in thy heart. Much of thy speech is shaped by sentiments concerning Him. Even in thy heart. He has often stirred thy emotions. The preaching of Him has often evoked the tenderest sympathies of thy nature. (D. Thomas, D.D.)

The cry of humanity and the response of the gospel

I. Man cries for the supernatural (verse 6).

II. Christianity responds to mans cry (verse 8).

III. The practical acceptance of the response is salvation (verse 9). (Homilist.)

Important questions answered

The questions asked may be through unbelief, or embarrassment, or anxiety, or possibly through all three combined. The anxious follower after righteousness is not disappointed by an impracticable code, nor mocked by an unintelligible revelation: the word is near him, therefore accessible; plain and simple, and therefore apprehensible; and, we may fairly add deals with definite historical fact, and therefore certain; so that his salvation is nor, contingent on an amount of performance which is beyond him, and therefore inaccessible; irrational, and therefore inapprehensible; undefined, and therefore involved in uncertainty. (Dean Alford.)

The present blessing

Your salvation is in Christ, and that salvation is marked--

I. By clearness. Who shall ascend into heaven? etc., is the language of one bewildered. Salvation is felt as a difficult and perplexing problem. The apostle reminds us that it is plain and intelligible. In verse 9 you have the Apostles Creed.

1. It is a definite creed. A dying German metaphysician exclaimed, Only one man in Germany understands my philosophy, and he doesnt understand it. But we are not called upon to struggle with incomprehensible speculations, but to receive simple, historical facts. To believe in the Christ: His incarnation, His atoning death, His resurrection, His reign at the right hand of God, dispensing grace and joy to all who trust in Him.

2. It is a simple creed. But you say, It is full of mysteries. True, but you are called upon to rest in the facts, not to understand the mysteries. With the heart man believeth unto righteousness. Thousands of men enjoy the sunshine who know nothing of astronomy; admire the rainbow knowing nothing of optics. God will some day reveal more fully the philosophy of redemption, but to-day I am to take God at His word, and leave the mysteries. Believe that in your lost estate God loved you, that He worked out your salvation in Christ, that if you only rest in Christ God will not cast you out. If thou shalt believe, etc.

3. It is a short creed. Dr. Porson declared he should require fifty years to satisfy himself on all points of divinity, but in five hours you may grasp the truth which saves the soul. There is no intellectual impossibility. It is not as difficult to become a saint as to become a Homer or Newton. We cannot write an Iliad or a Principia, but we can believe that God loves us, and that He for Christs sake blots out our sin.

II. By nearness. The word is nigh thee, etc. It is not in the heights or depths. Our poet says, A mans best things lie nearest him, lie close about his feet. It is so in daily life, and also in spiritual things.

1. All we need for the healing of our nature is here. Some maintain that we need never have recourse to foreign drugs, that God has planted in each locality the very plants which can cure the diseases of that locality. God put such and such a plant that heals sore throats by the riverside, they tell us, because where the bane is, the antidote is. However this may be, it is a grand thing to know that the Plant of Renown, the Tree of Life whose leaves are for the healing of the nations, is close to us.

2. All we need for the perfecting of our life is here. In the third verse we read of Israel going about to establish their own righteousness. A plant has not to go about looking for the sunshine, the dew, the rain; all that it has to do is to bare its heart and take in the precious influences which wait upon it. So the truth which saves, the love which purifies, the faith which uplifts, the power which perfects, are all about us, waiting only the opening of our heart to take them in. By this time a great number of our rich countrymen have left us for milder climes; but the poor and busy amongst us cannot take our flight to find health and life beyond the sea--we must stay where we are, and die, it may be, under the rigours of an English winter. But, thank God, the poorest of us for our spiritual health and salvation need not to cross the sea. Say not who shall ascend into heaven, or go beyond the sea. The world of health and blessing is about us already. Men are seeking for truth and power as if they were up in the sky, down in the depths; but the saving truth has been in our lips, the saving grace in our heart from childhood, and all we have to do is to realise that language, to exercise that grace. The Redeemer is not distant geographically, nor historically. The difficulty is not to find Christ, but to avoid Him. The word of salvation is in thy mouth, the power in thine heart--believe it, use it, and you shall know your Saviour nigh at hand and not afar off.

III. By freeness. Who shall ascend, etc. Some impossible task is contemplated. But the argument is, all has been done already; all we have to do is gratefully to accept what is pressed upon us. Justification and eternal life are free gifts. I know that men do not like to think so; they fancy they can work up to them, but this is in strict consistency with Gods method of action in the intellectual world. Men may work day and night, know well the theory of their art, strictly observe rule and order, but it is all to little purpose if they are not originally gifted men. Did the poor ploughman Robert Burns learn to make poetry? Did that tinker of Bedford learn to dream? No; they were gifted, and it was easy to them to sing, to write, to paint the very grandest things the world has ever seen. So it is with true righteousness. Genius, however, is to the few, but the same Lord over all is rich in grace to all who call upon Him. Some of you have long sought to fulfil the law, and you have miserably failed. You could not climb the sky of moral perfection, you could not penetrate its depths; but find in Christ abundance of grace and the gift of righteousness, and you shall delightfully fulfil the commandment in all its heights and depths. (W. L. Watkinson.)

But what saith it? The word is nigh thee.--The importance of simple faith in the Word:--To bring Christ down from above, or to bring Him up from the dead, would be to make Him an object of sight. A current aphorism is, that seeing is believing; yet Scripture distinguishes between the two. Faith is the assurance of things not seen, and belief through the medium of the senses is far less valued than a belief in a testimony (Luk_24:25; Mar_16:14; 1Pe_1:7-8; Rom_4:21). But there is a third way in which an absent thing might be viewed by us--viz., as an object of conception, an act often conjoined with faith, yet perfectly distinct from it. One might conceive a thing without any belief in its reality; and, on the other hand, though one can scarcely believe without some conception of the object of faith--yet may that conception be so dull as almost to justify the expression of our believing in the dark. You might believe in the existence of an absent friend, and in his affection for yourself; and this belief might or might not be as strong to-morrow as it is to-day. His whole countenance, manner, and voice, bespeaking the utmost cordiality--these may all tell more vividly on the imagination at one time than another. This conception flits and fluctuates, as if dependent on the ever varying mood of the spirit--at one time gleaming forth towards the vivacity of sense, and at another fading almost to extinction. But the remarkable thing is that, under all these varieties of conception, the faith might remain invariable. There may be a dimness in the contemplation, without the slightest mixture of a doubt in the object contemplated. What is true of an earthly friend is true of our Friend in heaven. He is far removed out of sight, but may become the object of faith through the word that is nigh unto us. And He may also become the object of conception, which is a sort of substitute for sight. But let us never forget that as faith without sight is all the more pleasing to God in that it subsists on its own unborrowed strength without the aid of the senses--so might faith be in the absence of any lucid or enlivening conception, having nothing to sustain it but the simple credit which it gives to the word of the testimony. Yet while we hold these bright and exhilarating views of the Saviour to be unspeakably precious (Joh_14:21), we should distinguish between the conception and the faith--because while the one may be a minister of sensible comfort, it is the other which is the guarantee of our salvation. The man who, to repair the insufficiency of the word, would bring down Christ from heaven, but exemplifies the man who, as if to make up for the same insufficiency, strains but ineffectually to frame some picturesque idea of Him there. The danger is that he may compass himself about with sparks of his own kindling, or walk in the light of his own fancy or his own fire. Let him keep, then, determinedly by the word which is nigh, rather than by the imagery wherewith he peoples the distinct and lofty places which are away from him. He who has conception but not faith, will at length lie down in sorrow. He who has faith, but from the want of conception walketh in darkness, and has no light, is still bidden trust in the name of God and stay upon His word. He who conceiveth may have sensible comfort; but, with or without this, he who believeth is safe (Isa_50:10-11). (T. Chalmers, D.D.)

The apparatus of salvation nigh

Once in the city of Rome, giving a gentleman of the place an account of a sermon I had heard a friar preach in the Coloseum, I said that though many things in it pleased me, one did not: he never gave the people to understand that they might go for absolution direct to God without the offices of a priest. That intelligent and noble man leaned across the table, and, with an eager look, said, Do you believe that a man can obtain absolution without the intermediation of a priest? Of course, I replied that our view of the place and work of the minister of the gospel was directly the opposite of that. Instead of his being a power between God and the sinner, we hold that his happiest work is to make the sinner feel that there is no power, visible or invisible, between him and the Saviour, and so to encourage him and lead him direct to the one Mediator. He then put some question which seemed to say, What, then, is the apparatus of absolution? This, he was told, was settled by a few words of St. Paul. The word is nigh you (Rom_10:6-10). Here the whole apparatus is nigh the man, in his own person--his heart to trust in the Saviour, his mouth to call upon Him; that is all the apparatus. Wherever a man stands feeling his need of salvation, there are all things now ready--the loving Saviour, the free pardon, the blood that speaketh peace, the heart to believe, the mouth to call upon the Lord. When the Roman heard this he looked up and said, How grand that is! why, that could be done in a quarter of an hour. Yes, it may be done in a quarter of an hour; for this salvation is a free gift (Mat_7:7-8). (W. Arthur, M.A.)

Salvation near

It is said that some years ago a vessel sailing on the northern coast of the South American continent was observed to make signals of distress. When hailed by another vessel, they reported themselves as dying for water! Dip it up, then, was the response, you are in the mouth of the Amazon river. There was fresh water all around them, they had nothing to do but to dip it up, and yet they were dying of thirst, because they thought themselves to be surrounded by the salt sea. How often are men ignorant of their mercies! How sad that they should perish for lack of knowledge! Jesus is near the seeker even when he is tossed upon oceans of doubt. The sinner has but to stoop down and drink and live; and yet he is ready to perish, as if salvation were hard to find. (C. H. Spurgeon.)

Even In thy mouth and in thy heart.--In the heart for our personal salvation; in the mouth for Gods glory and the salvation of ethers. In the heart and not in the mouth is cowardice; in the mouth and not in the heart is hypocrisy. The gospel believed is a fountain in the heart; the gospel possessed is the streams through the mouth. (T. Robinson, D.D.)

That is, the word of faith which we preach.--

The word of faith

I. Its nature.

1. It teaches faith.

2. Is offered to faith.

3. Inspires faith.

II. Its dispensation.

1. We are but dispensers.

2. Divinely commissioned.

3. To all who will receive it. (J. Lyth, D.D.)

Faith is desire

Faith is desire. Never in the history of the world has it been, or can it be, that a longing towards Christ shall be a longing thrown back unsatisfied upon itself. You have but to trust, and you possess. We open the door for the entrance of Christ by the simple act of faith; and, blessed be His name, He can squeeze Himself through a little chink, and He does not require the gates should be flung wide open in order that, with some of His blessings, He may come in. (A. Maclaren, D.D.)

True preaching

Preaching is not the communication of information, the transfer of a dead sum or capital of facts or theories from one mind to another, but the opening of living fountains within the heart, the scattering of sparks which shall kindle where they fall; the planting of seeds of truth which shall take root in the new soil where they are cast, and striking their roots downward and sending their branches upward shall grow into goodly trees. (Abp. Trench.)

That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God has raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.--

Mouth and heart

Pauls great work was saving souls. This is one of the reasons why he so often gives us weighty condensations of the gospel. He prepared them for his brethren, as one provides for travellers portable meats. A compact sentence of this sort is a little Bible, a miniature Body of Divinity, and he who composes such may be working as effectively for the salvation of men as another who preaches. Notice--

I. That the gospel is a gospel of faith, and this gospel is evidently intended for lost men.

1. The law continues life to those who have already life enough to do good work (verse 5); but the gospel saith not only that we shall live by it, but that we shall be saved by it, which implies that we are lost and ruined.

2. Jesus comes to bring salvation.

(1) From the punishment of sin.

(2) From sin itself.

(3) From the power of sin.

II. That saving faith concerns itself only about Jesus Himself. Read verses 6-9.

1. Unbelief saith, Who shall ascend into heaven? Who shall descend into the abyss? Unbelief is always starting questions. Faith is of another kind: she takes her stand where Christ is, and she says, If salvation is anywhere it is in Him.

2. Unbelief dreams of skies and seas, and all immeasurable things. Who shall ascend into heaven? Imagination beholds her mighty merits scaling the everlasting ramparts. At another time, when she is heavy, her dream is of a wretched diver into the deep seas of anguish, plunging down into the abyss to find the pearl of peace. Faith has done with dreams, for she has done with Sinai. With open eye faith reads facts. She reflects that Christ died, rose again, and is gone into glory.

3. Unbelief puts a sad slur upon Christ. She talks about going up to heaven: but that would imply that Jesus had never come down. She talks of descending into the abyss, as if Christ had never come up from the dead. The fact is, all that can be done has been done. Why do you want to do what is already done?

III. That saving faith has a confession to make. Observe--

1. This confession is put first.

(1) Because Paul was quoting from Deuteronomy, and had, of course, to place the words as there arranged. Yet there must be other reasons.

(2) Because it is most likely to be forgotten. We have plenty of preaching of Believe and live. Christ said, He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved. Now, baptism is the confession of our faith. The faith to which salvation is promised is never a dumb faith; it is a faith which owns the Lord even in the teeth of adversaries.

(3) Because it is first as far as our fellow-creatures are concerned. How can I know what yon believe in your heart? I must first hear what you confess with your mouth. Speak, that I may see you.

(4) Because in a certain sense it is actually first. Many persons never receive comfort because they have never confessed. The Lord will not give to you the warmth of faith unless you are willing to yield the obedience of faith by taking up your cross and confessing Him.

2. What it is that is to be confessed: The Lord Jesus.

(1) The Deity of Christ. He who denies this puts himself out of court, for he rejects that part of the Redeemers character which is essential to His being a Saviour.

(2) That Jesus is Lord; i.e., Ruler and Master. You must cheerfully become His disciple, follower, and servant.

(3) Jesus, i.e., Saviour.

3. This confession is very definite. It is not to be an inference drawn in silence from your life, but a declared statement of the mouth. If the apostle meant that we were merely to obey Christ, he would have said so. Why is this? Because confession with the mouth is--

(1) A sort of breaking away from the world. When a man says, I believe in Christ, it is as good as saying to the world, I have done with you.

(2) A way of forming a visible union with Jesus. When a man confesses Christ he takes sides with Him and His cause.

(3) Useful to the outside world as a witness reproving their ungodliness, and inviting them to a better mind. The confessions of the saved are often the means of saving others. This is a hard saying to some of you. You have good points about you, but you do not let your light shine before men. Your candle is under a bushel: it cannot burn well in so confined a space. If it is Gods own fire, and you put it under a bed to hide it, it will soon set the bed on a blaze. Mischief comes of suppressed truth.

IV. That faith has a great comfort to enjoy.

1. She has truth of which she must speak with her mouth; but she has also facts which she ponders in her heart. With thy heart believe that God hath raised Him from the dead--does not only mean that you believe the fact, but so believe it that it warms and comforts our heart.

2. Why is salvation promised especially to this? Because--

(1) All the rest of Christs history is implied and included in it. If He was raised from the dead, then He must have died. If He died, then He must have been a man, and have been born.

(2) It is confirmatory of the whole. By raising Him the Father set His seal upon His person as Divine, upon His office as commissioned of God, upon His life as well-pleasing, and upon His death as being accepted of God for full atonement.

(3) It is the source of the hearts best comfort. We shall rise to glory because He rose to glory. How this ought to cheer those who are near despair! How it should encourage those who lie at deaths door!

V. That faith has a sure promise to rest upon. If thou believest … thou shalt be saved.

1. The singular pronoun, thou, sets its mark upon you. Put thine ear to this telephone; a voice speaks to thee.

2. Observe the absence of ifs and buts. It is not thou mayest be saved, but thou shalt be saved.

3. There is a sort of passiveness about the expression be saved. The text does not speak about what you are going to do, but about something that is to be done for and in you.

4. There never was, and there never will be, a man that with his mouth confessed the Lord Jesus, and with his heart believed that God raised Him from the dead, that was not saved. (C. H. Spurgeon.)

Faith and confession

Distinguished by this text of belief, and confession of that belief, men are divided into four classes. There are those

(1) who neither make confession of any such belief with the mouth, nor believe these truths in their hearts.

(2) Those who believe indeed in the heart, but who fear to confess their belief in Christ before men, or who even do as Peter did, when in the time of trial he denied that he knew the Lord (Mat_26:72; cf. Mar_8:38).

(3) Those who confess with their lips the truths revealed by God, but who do not believe in Him with their hearts; who profess that they know God, but in works they deny Him, being abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate (Tit_1:16; cf. Mat_15:7-8).

(4) Those who confess Him with their mouth before men, and who believe in Him with their hearts. To these is the promise made that they shall be saved. (W. Denton, M.A.)

Faith and confession

There is no Christian faith without Christian confession, and vice versa. Confession is just faith turned from its obverse side to its reverse. The two sides of the precious unity are inseparable and mutually indispensable. When faith comes forth in silence to announce itself, and to proclaim the glory and grace of the Lord, its voice is confession. (J. Morison, D.D.)

Confession of faith

Paul is making an earnest effort to show how simple for both Jew and Gentile the way of salvation is. It is heart-faith in Jesus. It is life-devotion to His honour. Three principles are laid down with the utmost assurance.

I. A man should have a heart-faith in Christ to confess. Profession without such heart-life is self-delusion or hypocrisy, and has most pernicious influence on the man. The heart-life is something between Christ and the soul. None may intermeddle with it. But it has its tests, which discover it to others. Heart-faith is--

1. Sincere and loving.

2. In Christ: Christ risen: Christ raised by God.

3. Tones the life with righteousness.

Can these tests be applied now by men to themselves? Can these tests be applied now by men to their fellow men? Show they can. The sincere response to these is the abiding confidence of godly men.

II. A man should find out the best way is which to confess such heart-life. It is due to Christ that he should. It is needful for himself that he should. Life repressed is imperilled. Illustration. Archimedes running into the street, saying, Eureka. I have found it, when his problem was solved. And what is the best way in which to confess?

1. A life on all of which lies the Christly stamp.

2. Association with those who stand out as manifestly Christs.

3. Obedience to Christ in any public symbolic act--as Lords Supper.

Illustration. How these would come home to timid secret disciples among Romans. In these Christian times such confession is still demanded.

III. A man will surely find that Gods blessing rests on full obedience: in heart-belief, and lip, and life confession. Remember Christs words--Ashamed of Me before men. Blessing comes--

1. To the man himself--in fixity of mind and of life.

2. To others--in the example of His firmness, and in the work which confessed disciples undertake. Conclusion: Public confession of Christ must not be delayed until either--

(1) An adequate knowledge is gained;

(2) or model experience reached. When may the Eunuch confess Christ? When may Lydia--or the jailer? When may we? When with the heart we receive the risen Saviour as our Saviour, and begin to live in the rule of Christ, our saving Lord. (Weekly Pulpit.)

Confession of faith, public

There was one Victorinus, famous in Rome as a teacher of rhetoric, who in his old age was converted to Christianity, and came to Simplicianus, who was an eminent man, whispering softly in his ears, I am a Christian. But the holy man answered, I will not believe it, nor count thee so, till I see thee among the Christians in the church. At which he laughed, saying, Do these walls make a Christian? Cannot I be such unless I openly profess it, and let the world know the same? A while after being more confirmed in the faith, and considering that, if he should thus continue ashamed of Christ, Christ would be ashamed of him in the last day, he changed his language, and came to Simplicianus, saying, Let us go to the church: I will now in earnest be a Christian. And there, though a private confession of his faith might have been sufficient, yet he chose to make it open, saying, That he had openly professed rhetoric, which was not a matter of salvation, and should he be afraid to own the Word of God in the congregation of the faithful? (Biblical Museum.)

Confession of faith the glory of Christians

As the emperor always wears the diadem upon his head, so let us everywhere carry about the confession of our heart. The crown cannot so adorn the emperor as confession and faith the Christian. (Chrysostom.)

Confessing the Lord Jesus

This is a short chain to reach from earth to heaven. And God meant it to be easy. But its ease is its difficulty. Can this be really all?

I. As to faith--If thou shalt believe, etc.

1. All real faith lies in the heart, not in the understanding; it is not the result of reasoning; no education will give it. I have to feel--in the closest personality--that Jesus died for me. If your faith has been inoperative, may not the reason be that it has not yet been heart work?

2. But why does God say, Believe that God raised Him from the dead instead of that He died for you?

(1) The resurrection is the seal of all. By raising Him from the dead the Father showed that He accepted the ransom Christ had paid.

(2) That resurrection is our resurrection. We rise in Him; now, to a newness of life; presently, to a life in glory.

II. As to confession. What is the confession of the mouth?

1. It may be that general acknowledgment of Christ, and the great doctrines of His religion, which ought to characterise our daily conversation. And here most of us must plead guilty to the charge that we do not show whose we are, and whom we serve, by speaking of Christ and the great truths of the Christian religion. And yet if all we profess to believe of Christ be really true--if we owe to Him every comfort and every hope--if He is really my Brother, my Friend, my Saviour, my King, out of the abundance of the heart would not the month speak? We read, They that feared the Lord spake often one to another. To talk in generalities about religion requires no effort, and brings no shame. The world likes it. But to talk of Christ requires an effort, and offends people. And yet it is a very solemn thought that Christ has said, Whosoever shall confess Me, etc. Therefore it is no mean test of a believer, and we cannot wonder that it is made one of the conditions of salvation.

2. There can be no doubt that, from the first, all Christians were required to make, at some time, a public declaration of their faith. It is of this that St. Paul says to Timothy--Thou hast professed a good profession before many witnesses.

(1) This was evidently a part of adult baptism, which would, of course, be the most frequent in the early church.

(2) Now that infant baptism has become, and rightly, the almost universal custom of the Church, the public confession has been transferred to Confirmation, which is an act by which a person who has come to years of discretion accepts and ratifies the covenant of his baptism renews the dedication of himself to God, and declares his faith in the promises and privileges into which his baptism has admitted him. (J. Vaughan, M.A.)

Confessing Christ

I. What are we to confess?

1. That Christ is risen. The resurrection of Jesus was the decision of all controversies between Him and His enemies. They had invented stories to discredit it. To confess Christ, therefore, was to declare for Christ against the Jewish rulers. And as the Gentile philosophers scorned the resurrection, to confess Christ was to brave this scorn.

2. Christs official character as the Messiah, which He suspended on His resurrection.

3. His personal dignity, as proved by the fact (Rom_1:3-4).

4. The sufficiency and the exclusive efficacy of his righteousness and atonement. To confess His resurrection is to glory in His cross and passion.

5. His sole and supreme authority. We must acknowledge Him as the only Lord of the conscience, and if we do this we shall follow His will, let the world say what they may. This practical confession is indispensable. In the confession of the lips without it there is no sincerity. The apostle speaks cf some who professed that they knew God, while in works they denied Him. The practical denial was the true testimony.

6. His title to Divine worship and adoration. This is suggested by verses11-13. In all this the avowal must be sincere and open, no silent reserve, no ashamed concealment, no disguising and palliating of the truth, no trimming and artful evasion.

II. Why are we to confess? Because--

1. Jesus is well entitled to it, both for what He is and what He bath done (Joh_1:1-3; 2Co_8:9). Away with ingratitude so base that would disown or shrink from acknowledging such a friend!

2. It is one of the required and reasonable evidences of faith. There is no faith where there is no confession. And this evidence is of the utmost importance and value. Evidence of personal interest in Christ must be added to the evidence of the truth itself to give stability to personal hope and confidence (1Jn_3:19; 2Co_13:5).

3. It is intimately connected with salvation. The terms expressing this connection are equally explicit with those which express the connection of faith with justification. If you do not make confession you do not believe, you are not justified, and cannot be saved.

4. It distinguishes the believer from the world, and is opposed to everything like neutrality. A man must be on one side or on the other. There must be no halting between two opinions, and compromising with the so-called Christian world, any more than with the world of the avowedly unbelieving and ungodly. (R. Wardlaw, D.D.)

Confessing Christ

I. What does it embrace?

1. A hearty reception of Christ (Luk_8:40; Joh_20:28; 1Pe_1:8-9).

(1) Of Himself (Joh_14:6; Joh_10:9; Eph_2:18).

(2) Of His work (Eph_1:7; 1Co_15:3; Gal_3:13; 2Co_5:21; Rom_3:24-25).

2. An acknowledgment of the power of the Holy Spirit.

(1) To renew (Tit_3:5-7; Joh_3:7).

(2) To sustain (Eph_1:19; 2Co_12:9; 2Co_9:8; Jud_1:24). Giving all glory and praise for our salvation unto God, through Jesus Christ (1Co_1:30-31; 2Co_3:5; Galatians i, 4, 5).

3. A public acknowledgment.

(1) By union with His visible Church (1Co_12:27; Eph_1:22-23; Rom_10:9-10).

(2) By everywhere acknowledging Christs claim upon you and yours (1Co_6:19-20; Mat_16:24).

II. Excuses men offer for not confessing Christ.

1. Personal unworthiness.

2. Moral weakness; fear of inconsistency; will not hold out; bondage to sin.

3. Have not sufficient knowledge--

(1) Of the Word.

(2) Of the doctrines of the Church.

4. Will defer it for the present.

III. Reasons given in the Scriptures why men do not confess Christ. Because of--

1. Unbelief (Joh_5:38; Joh_5:40; Joh_8:24; 1Jn_5:10-11; 1Co_2:14).

2. Insincerity (Jer_17:9; Jer_29:13).

3. Fear of man; sensitiveness to ridicule; ashamed of Christ (Joh_7:13; Joh_12:42; Mar_8:38).

4. Love of the world (Jam_4:4; 2Co_4:3-4; 1Jn_2:15-16; Pro_1:24-32).

IV. Reasons why all should confess Christ (Heb_3:12-13; 1Jn_4:15; Rom_2:4-5; Pro_27:1; Joh_3:36). What shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God? (1Pe_4:17; Isa_55:7). (W. H. Van Doren.)

Confessing Christ

I. Confession is--

1. To say the same thing with others; to agree with.

2. To promise.

3. To acknowledge, to declare a person or thing to be what he or it really is.

II. To confess Christ, therefore, is to acknowledge Him to be what He really is and declares Himself to be--

1. The Son of God.

2. God manifest in the flesh.

3. The Saviour of the world.

4. The Lord.

III. The nature of this confession.

1. It is not enough that we cherish the conviction in our hearts, or confess it to ourselves, to friends who agree with us, or to God.

2. It must be done publicly, or before men--foes as well as friends, amid good and evil report, when it brings reproach and danger as well as when it incurs no risk.

3. It must be with the mouth. It is not enough that men may infer from our conduct that we are Christians, we must audibly declare it.

4. This must be done--

(1) In our ordinary intercourse.

(2) In the way of Gods appointment, i.e., by baptism and the Lords Supper.

5. It must be sincere. Not every one that saith, Lord, Lord, shall enter the kingdom of heaven. It is only when the outward act is a revelation of the heart that it has any value.

IV. Its advantages.

1. It strengthens faith.

2. It is a proof of regeneration, because it supposes the apprehension of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

3. It is an indispensable condition of salvation because--

(1) God requires it.

(2) Not to confess is to deny.

(3) Denial implies want of faith or devotion.

V. Its obligation.

1. It is not merely a commandment.

2. It is the highest moral duty to acknowledge the truth, and especially to acknowledge God to be God.

3. It is the most direct means we can take to honour Christ, and to bring others to acknowledge Him. Conclusion. Read Mat_10:32; Luk_12:8; Mar_8:38; 2Ti_2:12; 1Jn_4:2; 1Jn_4:15. (C. Hodge, D.D.)

Confessing Christ, ashamed of

A minister in Brooklyn was recently called upon by a business man, who said, I come, sir, to inquire if Jesus Christ will take me into the concern as a silent partner. Why do you ask? said the minister. Because I wish to be a member of the firm, and do not wish anybody to know it, said the man. The reply was, Christ takes no silent partners. The firm must be, Jesus Christ & Co., and the names of the Co., though they may occupy a subordinate place, must all be written out on the signboard.

Confessing Christ: decisive

A young seaman, who had only a few nights before been converted, laying a blank card before a friend, requested him to write a few words upon it, because, as he said, You will do it more plainly than I can. What must I write? said my friend. Write these words, sir, I love Jesus--do you? After he had written them my friend said, Now you must tell me what you are going to do with the card. He replied, I am going to sea to-morrow, and I am afraid if I do not take a stand at once I may begin to be ashamed of my religion, and let myself be laughed out of it altogether. Now as soon as I go on board I shall walk straight to my bunk and nail up this card upon it, that every one may know that I am a Christian, and may give up all hope of making me either ashamed or afraid of adhering to the Lord. (Clerical Library.)

Confessing Christ, from gratitude

At the battle of Williamsburg a soldier, who had the artery of his arm severed by a fragment of a shell, and was fast bleeding to death, saw a surgeon going to the front for orders, and, lifting his bleeding member, cried, Doctor, please! The surgeon dismounted, bound up the vessel, and gave all possible relief. As he started on, the man said, Doctor, what is your name? The reply was, No matter. But, doctor, said the wounded man, I want to tell my wife and children who saved me.

Confessing Christ inevitable

It is impossible to believe with the heart and not confess with the mouth--this were to have a fire which did not burn, a light which did not illuminate, a principle which did not actuate, a hope which did not stimulate. Genuine Christians are temples of the living God; but think ye to be temples, and yet that no voice shall go forth from the secret shrine? Not so. There must issue a sound from the recesses of the sanctuary, the sound as of a presiding deity, eloquent to all around of the power and authority of the Being that dwelleth within. Therefore, whilst we admit that it is faith which is the instrument of justification, we can understand why confession should also be given as that which issues in salvation; even as we can understand why works should be spoken of as procuring us immortality. Confession is but the necessary result of belief--the demonstration and exhibition. It is but faith showing itself in speech, even as works are but belief showing itself in action. Speech is one of the most distinguishing properties of man. Ought, then, the hand, the ear, the eye, to be pressed into the service of religion, and is the tongue to be exempt? Nay, this best member must do its part, otherwise is the whole man in rebellion against his Maker. (H. Melvill, B.D.)

Confessing Christ: its necessity

I. Confession is the necessary expression of faith in Christ.

1. Lively emotions usually find expression.

2. Especially those which deeply affect the whole life.

3. If, then, faith really saves, confession cannot be found wanting.

II. Courageous confession is the touchstone of faith.

1. While faith is hidden its operation is hidden.

2. Weak faith, by its want of confession, shows its defectiveness. It has not yet attained to the assurance of salvation. (J. Lyth, D.D.)

The faith that makes men righteous

The late Professor C. S. Harrington, held in such high esteem for his deep spiritual attainments, as well as for his thorough scholarship, wrote near the close of life:--The faith that makes men righteous is the faith that fastens simply and trustingly on the Lord Jesus Christ as the only, all-sufficient, atoning Saviour. It is that faith in Jesus that blots our transgressions, makes our record clear. It is Jesus that gives spiritual life. It is He that continues it. This faith merges the believers life into the life of Christ. It dares not, it wishes not, a moments separation. It knows no historic past; it deals only in present tenses. It echoes Pauls prayer, Let me be found in Him. I cannot tell the process; I cannot explain the power by which the black coal is transformed into the gleaming diamond; how much less can I tell how, by the mystery of the new birth, the lost, dead soul lives by the merit of Jesus! I cannot tell how the living tree gets its flower and fruit from the dead substance in which it is rooted, and on which it feeds; how much less can I tell how the wounds, the blood, the death of Christ gives life to the soul dead in trespasses and sins, and clothes it with the fruitage of holiness! Or how can I tell the end of this Divine work, when the Giver of spiritual life shall crown it with life eternal? when dust and ashes, this body, shall spring from its sepulchre and appear in the glorified body of the resurrection? But it shall be done according to the working of the power whereby He is able to subdue all things unto Himself. Enough for me that this is Gods way, and the work is worthy of God.

Trusting Christ

If a king should give to one of his subjects a ring, and say to him, When you are in distress or disgrace, simply send me that ring, and I will do all for you that is needful, if that man should wilfully refuse to send it, but purchase presents, or go about to do some singular feats of valour in order to win his monarchs favour, you would say, What a fool he is! Here is a simple way, but he will not avail himself of it, he wastes his wits in inventing new devices, and toils away his life in following out plans that must end in disappointment. Is not this the case with all those who refuse to trust Christ? The Lord has assured them that if they trust Jesus they shall be saved; but they go about after ten thousand imaginings, and let their God, their Saviour, go.

Believing with the heart

You have only to observe the character of the truths which revelation unfolds, and you may see clearly that belief presupposes the possession, or requires the exercise of those virtues whose seat must be the heart. There must be humility in him who believes, for he must cordially confess himself unclean and undone. There must be submission of the understanding to God, for much which has to be received is not explained. There must be willingness to suffer, for Christianity summons to tribulation. There must be willingness to labour, for Christianity sets man about the most arduous of duties. What then? Is faith nothing more than an involuntary act, depending simply on the quantity of evidence, and therefore wholly unworthy of being exalted into a condition for the bestowment of blessings? Is it nothing that in him who believes there must be candour and freedom from prejudice, sincerity of purpose, an abandonment of all good opinion of himself, an entire resignation of his judgment to God, a willingness to submit to insult, a determination to enter into combat with the world, the flesh, and the devil? Are we to be told that though there must indeed be this great combination in every man who cordially believes in revelation, it is, nevertheless, a surprising thing that faith should be so dignified in the Bible, that it should be used as the test of admission into the privileges of the gospel? For our own part, when we consider what faith presupposes, what obstacles there are in the constitution of man to the belief of Christian truths, we can only feel that if God did not work on the human heart the whole world would be infidel. We do not know any achievement so remarkable, so little to have been expected, from a proud, prejudiced, and depraved creature such as man naturally is, as the believing in a record so humiliating, so condemnatory of lust, so rigid in enjoining difficult duties as the gospel of Jesus Christ. (H. Melvill, B.D.)

Redemptive faith

I. The faith by which man is made righteous and saved is the faith of the heart. Faith in general is conviction arising from evidence.

1. The faith of the intellect is based on the evidence of the senses, or on the results of reasoning. Mathematical reasoning, with its definitions, postulates, axioms, etc., metaphysical proofs of the existence of God, the external evidences of Divine revelation, appeal to the mind as distinguished from the heart. Education, prejudice, circumstances, and associations frequently determine the mind to a languid acquiescence in various doctrines.

2. The faith of the heart supposes the assent of the understanding, the approval of the judgment, the submission and choice of the will.

(1) It springs from the heart. It is the confidence of love. The heart trusts when the mind cannot explain. It is the heart that trusts in character. Feeling quickens and strengthens the faith of the mind. The emotions of penitence prepare the heart of man to trust in the heart of the Saviour. Our eyes were made to weep, but also made to see. Our hearts were made to suffer, but also to believe. (V. Hugo).

(2) It carries the heart with it. Many of our intellectual beliefs are inoperative. Many men are firmly convinced of the duty and advantages of early rising, but still caress the sluggards pillow. What the heart believes, puts the whole man in movement.

(3) It reacts upon the heart. Sufficient evidence enables the mind to dispel doubt. The faculties are at rest. So when the heart trusts in God, the affections are at peace. The disquietudes of spiritual anxiety are allayed, and the agitation of fear subsides. I know whom I have believed, etc. Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, etc.

II. The object of this faith is the resurrection of the Lord Jesus from the dead by the power of God. The Resurrection is presented--

1. As the object of our faith, rather than His death.

(1) Because this belief is distinctive of a Christian. Pagans and infidels will easily admit that Christ was born, lived, and died, but they deny His resurrection. Pharisees and philosophers deny the fact (Act_17:32); Sadducees denied its possibility. Hence, belief in it was a capital article of faith in those days.

(2) All that Christ did and suffered would have profited us little, unless He had risen again. By His resurrection He triumphed over death and hell, and was enabled to ascend to His throne.

(3) The Resurrection pre-supposes all the other facts of Christs life, such as His incarnation, sacrifice and exaltation.

2. In a special point of view, viz., as having been accomplished by the power of God. In other passages Christs resurrection is ascribed to His own power, or to the energy of the Holy Spirit. As an act of the Father, it is designed--

(1) To recognise and vindicate the claims of Christ to be the Son and the sent of God.

(2) To confirm His teachings.

(3) To declare His acceptance of His atonement.

(4) To fulfil His promise to Christ. Thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, etc.

III. Open confession of the Lord Jesus is an indispensable accompaniment of this faith.

1. What is to be confessed? Jesus, as--

(1) Lord.

(2) The Lord.

(3) Our Lord.

2. Why is this confession enjoined? It is required--

(1) By Christ. Whosoever shall confess Me, etc.

(2) By the interests of Christs cause. Ye are My witnesses.

(3) By gratitude.

The instructor to whom you owe your career, the lawyer who has saved your property, the physician who has saved your life, will you not thankfully speak of them? How much more should you speak of the great Physician, Teacher, Advocate. How is it to be made? Avow your principles. Join His Church. Confess Him boldly, sincerely, wisely, meekly, reverentially.

Conclusion:

1. The way of salvation is--

(1) Not so easy as often represented. The exercise of faith is often found difficult; to confess Christ before men requires moral courage.

(2) Nor so difficult; the gospel is easy to be understood; the terms of salvation are simple, etc.

2. A profession of religion is necessary. Christ demands it, and we are not His disciples, and compromise our salvation if we disobey. With the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

3. Faith must be attended by confession, and confession by faith. (W. C. St. Freare.)

Salvation assured to all believers whether weak or strong

In crossing the sea I will suppose that there shall be a good stiff wind, and that the vessel may be driven out of her course, and be in danger. As I walk the deck, I see a poor girl on board; she is very weak and ill, quite a contrast to that fine, strong, burly passenger who is standing beside her, apparently enjoying the salt spray and the rough wind. Now suppose a storm should come on, which of these two is the more safe? Well, I cannot see any difference, because if the ship goes to the bottom, they will both go, and if the ship gets to the other side of the channel they will both land in security. The safety is equal when the thing upon which it depends is the same. So, if the weakest Christian is in the boat of salvation--that is, if he trusts Christ--he is as safe as the strongest Christian; because if Christ failed the weak one, He would fail the strong one too. If the least Christian who believes in Jesus does not get to heaven, then Peter himself will not get to heaven. If the smallest star which Christ ever kindled does not blaze in eternity, neither will the brightest star. (C. H. Spurgeon.)

Salvation

I. Its import. Deliverance--

1. From sin.

2. From its consequences.

II. Its conditions.

1. Confession of Christ as our only Saviour and Lord.

2. Faith in His resurrection.

III. Its process.

1. Faith brings righteousness.

2. Righteousness prompts confession.

3. Faithful confession ensures salvation.

IV. Its security.

1. The word and promise of God.

2. Which may be trusted.

3. Without fear of disappointment. (J. Lyth, D.D.)

Salvation

is--

I. A personal matter.

1. All need it.

2. It is offered to all in Christ.

3. We preach it to you.

II. Suspended on human conduct. If thou shalt--

1. Confess.

2. Believe.

III. Secured by the promise and purpose of god. (J. Lyth, D.D.)

The gospel of the resurrection

I. The gospel meets the general necessities of man, and by the fact of Christs resurrection this may be proved.

1. Man is ignorant, and needs authoritative instruction. Not of arts, government, and sciences; they affect not the eternal welfare of man. That only is true wisdom which is suited to our highest nature and eternal destiny. Man, by nature, knows not, nor enjoys God. The world by wisdom knew not God. But the gospel meets the case. Jesus Christ taught every truth necessary to enlighten the understanding, and direct the conscience, and God raised Him from the dead as His great confirmatory seal to the truth of His doctrines.

2. Man is guilty and needs an acceptable propitiation. Now Christ was raised from the dead; therefore His death is an available atonement.

3. Man is depraved, and needs entire renewal. The gospel meets this case. Christ declares that man must be the subject of a supernatural change, and promises to send forth the Spirit for this purpose. But the Promiser died, but rose again; and therefore, being by the right hand of God exalted, He received of the Father the promise of the Spirit.

4. Man is supine, and needs powerful motives. And the gospel presents motives to rouse the most supine--motives fetched from eternity. Christ declares, he that believeth not, shall be damned--he that believeth not, is condemned already. His strongest motives are derived from His doctrine of the day of judgment. But all His doctrines are founded on the Resurrection, as the grand proof of His Messiahship. And God now commandeth all men everywhere to repent (Act_17:30-31).

5. Man is unbelieving, and needs strong evidence. And what evidence can be stronger than that He rose from the dead according to His own prediction.

II. The gospel has a special provision for a sinners justification, and the resurrection of Christ is a grand object of his faith. Let us notice--

1. The pre-requisites of faith. If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus--that is, acknowledge Jesus Christ as thy only Saviour. This is one of the most difficult tasks to human nature. We cleave to our own performances and attach merit to them. I must first reform--weep more--bring a softer heart--pray more, is not confessing the Lord Jesus.

2. The object of faith. That God hath raised Jesus Christ from the dead. In Scripture a part is often put for the whole: so here, the resurrection of Christ is put for the whole of His mediatorial work, because by that miracle God gave assurance that Christ was His Son--that His sacrifice was acceptable and efficacious; and that His laws were binding, His doctrines true, and His promises sure.

3. The exercise of faith. Believe with thine heart. We sometimes use the term, faith in the head; by which we mean an instinctive, rational conviction. This is not shut out; but it is only the casket of the jewel--a shell of the fruit. The righteousness of faith is by the heart. The affections have now more to do than the intellect. In this exercise of faith thou art called upon cordially to approve of Gods way of saving sinners; not to understand how the death of Christ avails for thee!

4. The encouragement of faith (verses 12, 13). (J. A. West.)

The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Rom 10:5. For Moses describeth the righteousness of the law — The only way of becoming righteous by the law, when he saith, The man that doeth these things shall live by them — Not only a happy life in the land of Canaan, but in heaven, of which Canaan was a type and figure: (see on Lev 18:5.) That is, he who perfectly keeps all these precepts in every point, he alone may claim life and salvation by them. For though the law directs to a better and more effectual righteousness in Christ, yet in itself, considered as a law, abstracted from its respect to Christ and the gospel, (for so the unbelieving Jews embraced and adhered to it,) it acknowledges nothing as a righteousness, sufficient to justify a man, but that of perfect obedience; a way of justification impossible to any who have ever transgressed any one law in any point. As if the apostle had said, Moses, by showing that the law requires exact and perfect obedience for righteousness, (an obedience impossible to be performed by us in our fallen state,) may thereby convince us that righteousness is not to be attained by our own works, but only by faith in Christ. It may be proper to observe here, that although the law, which was given from Sinai, was not, strictly speaking, a covenant of works, or of mere justice, (for who then could have been saved under that dispensation?) yet, that it might more effectually bring men to Christ, and render the covenant of grace more acceptable, it had a great mixture of the strictness and terror of such a covenant. Accordingly it condemned notorious offenders to temporal death in many cases, and made no provision for the pardon of any sin, deliberately and wilfully committed against it. See Heb 10:28. It, however, contained some further discoveries of that covenant of grace, which was made with mankind after the fall, by which many had been saved during the patriarchal ages, and which had been solemnly and repeatedly renewed to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

CRITICAL NOTES

Rom_10:6. Say not in thine heart.—Unbelief originates from self-confidence. Who shall ascend?—Indicating unbelief in a risen Saviour. Salvation is a completed work; do not trouble about its vastness or its difficulty.

Rom_10:7.—ἄβυσσος, the place of departed spirits, supposed by the Jews to be far below the surface of the earth. The Jerusalem Targum renders the words thus: “Oh that there were one like Jonas the prophet who would descend into the depths of the great sea! “Now we know that Jonas descending into the deep was a type of Christ; “being brought again,” say the LXX., “from the abyss of the earth.” Philo asks, “What need is there to take long journeys or go to sea in search of virtue, we having the root of it within us?” or, as Moses saith, “In our mouth, in our heart, and in our hand.”

Rom_10:8.—A holy and sweet play of the Spirit on His own inspired word.

Rom_10:9. The Lord Jesus.—Jesus as Jehovah. Paul is referring to Jer_23:6. Mouth confession important towards men, heart belief towards God. The law is works; the gospel is faith, and works following. The resurrection of Christ is a foundation fact; receive that, and we shall include all it implies.

Rom_10:10.—In the heart faith is seated; with the tongue confession is made. Between these two salvation is completed.

MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH—Rom_10:5-11

Life on divine conditions.—God is not a Pharaoh demanding bricks without straw; God does not require a Samson’s strength from an infant’s weakness, a Solomon’s wisdom from the unfortunate possessor of imbecility. If God’s plan of salvation seem difficult, it is not because of divine conditions, but because of human perversity. Humble souls, receptive natures, find God’s method of salvation an easy, unencumbered plan. Life on divine conditions is in striking contrast to life on human conditions.

I. Notice life on human conditions.—Sometimes we rail against the hardness and perversity of nature. Man battling for life is often worsted in the encounter. The struggle for life ends, with too many, in death. But life would not be so hard if selfishness were eliminated from humanity. Natural life is hard on human conditions. It is not God but man that makes moral life hard. The human conditions are:

1. Life by doing. The law done, the life secured. Grace was there in Old Testament times, but men too often ignored the grace and went about to establish their own righteousness. God had then a blessing for contrite souls.

2. Life by fruitless search. Who can ascend to heaven? Who can fathom the abyss? In these modern days men can explore and investigate to marvellous heights and depths; they can almost travel along the pathway which the vulture’s eye hath not seen; but they do not discover the treasure of moral life. The eye of the scientist has not seen it in the depths; the far-reaching knowledge of the philosopher has not discovered it in the heights of his sublime soaring. Spiritual life eludes the search of the wise and prudent of this world, but is revealed unto babes.

II. Notice life on divine conditions.—Natural life on divine conditions is pleasant. The life of unfallen man was life on divine conditions—life in a garden where birds sang, brooks musically rippled, flowers bloomed, fruits ripened, and where there was not the offensiveness of decay and of death. If flowers decayed, they presented no unsightly aspect, they gave forth no offensive odour. If death visited, it came in comely form. Man had no monotony, no feeling of unrest. The conditions of life are changed; but even now if we got nearer to divine conditions we should live more pleasantly. One image this of spiritual life. Pleasantly flows the stream of spiritual life to those who exercise faith. Spiritual life is in:

1. A word of nearness. God’s words are near. Day unto day uttereth divine speech. Nature is divinely vocal. Time expresses the divine thought. Providence utters the purposes of the infinite Spirit. God’s words are round about us everywhere. The atmosphere is thick with the thoughts of the Eternal. But God’s words are carried by a still, small voice, and our souls are not hushed so as to catch the message. “The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart”; but time words stifle the heaven word. Let us be still, and then we shall hear the near word of God.

2. A word of faith. A little word, and yet very large. It carries a whole heaven in its embrace. It conquers the world, the flesh, and the devil—triumphs over death, and opens the gates of paradise. The word of faith is great, and yet its greatness is not inherent, but derived. Faith must have an object, and that object is a divine Person. Faith embraces a living Saviour; faith concerns itself with a perfect life, an atoning death, an evidencing resurrection, a victorious ascension, and an intercessory existence; faith is emotional, its seat is in the heart; faith works by love. God is emotional, and so are His true children. The intellectualist may despise the emotional; and yet to stifle emotion is to do violence to the perfection of human nature. Emotions play a large part in human doings. Emotion is a strong motive force. God would have perfect men in His kingdom, and such are those who let emotion have fair play. Faith of the head will not save. Faith which accepts the axioms of mathematics, the deductions of logic the recorded experiments of science, or the statements of history will not save. There is a faith which accepts a perfect creed, and yet is not saving. Our want is heart faith. To-day we are developing heads and minimising hearts; our brains are weighed and measured, while our hearts are dying for want of nutriment. The light of moral knowledge may play about the head while the heart is untouched; and where hearts are unaffected there can be no true moral reformation. A heart faith clinging to a loving Christ climbs the rugged steeps of time, and gains the height of moral perfectness and spiritual beauty. Heart faith resting in Christ is the greatest motive power in the universe.

3. A word of confession. In these days Christ-confessing is too much confined. If the heart were full of Christ, would the mouth be full of the world? Have things changed? Are the great Teacher’s words untrue, “Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh”? Are they untrue? or is it sadly true that Christ-abundance is not found in modern hearts? The head and the heart, the body and the soul, must move onwards to the accomplishment of a perfected salvation.

4. A word of divine encouragement. “Whosoever believeth on Him shall not be ashamed.” Here we have a divine universality, a divine invitation, and a divine declaration—the largeness of divine love, the regulating force of divine wisdom, the provisions of divine power. “Whosoever.” Jew or Gentile, rich or poor. “Whosoever.” If a word could measure the vastness of the infinite love, that word would be the word “whosoever.” Finite words, however, cannot gauge infinite realities. Enough for us to know that the love is vast, and that love invites whosoever believeth to the banqueting-house where the banner of divine love is displayed.

Rom_10:6-8. The Saviour near the soul.—By the phrase “the righteousness which is of faith” we are to understand Christianity. Therefore Christianity is the speaker. The apostle desires to answer the question of questions, How may I be saved from my sins for the service of my God? and assumes Christianity to be speaking in answer. Christianity does not say it is necessary to go to a distance for your religion, but “the word is nigh.” In answer to the question, How may I become a Christian indeed? the gospel reply is, Look not for the marvellous, leave the speculative; listen to the Saviour: “Behold, He stands at the door, and knocks.”

I. Christianity discourages a craving for the miraculous.—Do not occupy yourselves with any fond conceits of a manifestation of God more striking and convincing than that which you have already. Had miracles been the likeliest method of eliciting Christian faith, they would have been continued. But they did their work, and were laid aside. Though the need has passed, the craving remains. Hence the lying legends of the Church of Rome. The last thing men will acknowledge is that the blessing is already their own if they have faith to receive it. The last power they consent to trust is Christ, the power of God. Yet, needing Christ, it is the word of Christ we already have. “The word is nigh.”

II. Christianity discourages a passion for the speculative.—Do not consider it necessary that you should have adequate notions respecting those deep subjects before you can attain to the righteousness of faith and the blessings of salvation. Do but believe. You need not then despair of receiving heavenly teaching. The wisest of men are sent back by the gospel to the simple faith of children. This is the heavenly order: first trust, then knowledge. Theology is not religion. Theologies change, but Christ changes not.

III. Christianity recalls us, then, from the miraculous and the speculative to the evangelical and the spiritual.—The word of faith very familiar to those who heard Paul. And the word is nigh now. The letter of the word is nigh—a free, cheap Bible. More than that, you have Christian language already in your mouth. Mark the Apostles’ Creed, the Lord’s Prayer, the name of Christ. In a certain sense the word is in your heart already. Every troubled heart has a witness for Him who did what the law could not do for man. Christ speaks to the heart, and in a language which the heart comprehends. He has done this in many ways—by sorrows, by consolations, by memories. And the Saviour is near to the soul at all times. It is a familiar good. It is Christ, then, not this world, that can bless us.—J. Gage Rigg, D.D.

Rom_10:10. Outward observances.—Man, a being of two parts: outward, material; inward, immaterial. Therefore two facts must be brought into play in all relationships to God and to men.

For man’s religion to be thoroughgoing, heart must be in it, body must be in it. Meaning of “worship in spirit and in truth”—not spirit without body, but spirit along with body.

Examples:

1. Family prayer proves your belief in God in the eyes of your household. [Note.—No position more honourable than Christian man—like patriarchs, priest of his household, conducting family worship.]

2. Going to church, witness to belief in God in the eyes of the world. [Note.—A duty, therefore, even for the deaf or blind.]

3. Confirmation a similar ceremony, witness that when of age of discretion you put trust in God and decide for Him,

4. Kneeling in prayer, testimony of reverence before God. Story of heathen chief, who sees Charlemagne kneeling in church, and asks, Where is the greater King? I know one must have been there, for the king was kneeling.

5. Lord’s supper, testimony that you have support from someone beyond yourself.

Remember, inward, if real, must be expressed by something outward. Beware of outward without inward.—Dr. Springett.

SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS ON Rom_10:5-11

The will of God made clearly known.—The obvious import of this passage is that the knowledge of the will of God had been made perfectly accessible; no one was required to do what was impossible, neither to ascend to heaven nor to pass the boundless sea in order to attain it; it was neither hidden nor afar off, but obvious and at hand. Without directly citing this passage, Paul uses nearly the same language to express the same idea. The expressions here used seem to have become proverbial among the Jews. To be “high” or “afar off” was to be “unattainable “; “to ascend to heaven” or “to go down to hell” was “to do what was impossible.” As the sea was to the ancients impassable, it is easy to understand how the question, “Who can pass over the sea?” was tantamount to, Who can ascend up into heaven? Among the later Jews the same mode of expression not infrequently occurs.—Hodge.

The world to be regenerated by doing our nearest duty.—My object has been and is, and I trust in God ever will be, to make people see that they need not, as St. Paul says, go up into heaven or go down to the deep to find Christ; because He the word whom we preach, is very near them—in their hearts and on their lips—if they would but believe it; and ready, not to set them afloat on new and untried oceans of schemes and projects, but ready to inspire them to do their duty humbly and simply where He has put them; and, believe me, the only way to regenerate the world is to do the duty which lies nearest us, and not to hunt after grand, far-fetched ones for ourselves.—Charles Kingsley.

The duty of confessing with the mouth.—As believing with the heart leads to righteousness, so confessing Christ with the mouth conduces “to salvation.” Confessing Christ with the mouth is at all times an important duty; but, at the first publication of the gospel, it was peculiarly indispensable, both for promoting the diffusion of the Christian religion and for the edification of individuals. For the open avowal of Christianity by all the disciples of Christ, accompanied with that moral purity which distinguished them and which was so striking in an age of great corruption, would naturally lead other men to examine a religion which produced such remarkable effects; and thus many might be induced to embrace the gospel who would not otherwise have given it any consideration. In like manner, by associating continually with the Church in all the services of religion, the Christian converts would gradually become better acquainted with the gospel and more strongly induced by the influence of general example to live as became the disciples of Christ. Hence our Saviour makes confessing Him before men an express condition of His confessing men before His Father who is in heaven; and adds, that whosoever shall deny Him before men, him will He deny before His Father which is in heaven.—Ritchie.

The true misery to be ashamed of oneself.—This is being confounded; this is shame itself; this is the intolerable, horrible, hellish shame and torment wherein is weeping and gnashing of teeth; this is the everlasting shame and contempt to which, as Daniel prophesied, too many should awake in that day, to be found guilty in that day before God and Christ, before our neighbours and our relations, and, worst of all, before ourselves. Worst of all, I say, before ourselves. It would be dreadful enough to have all the bad things we ever did or thought told openly against us to all our neighbours and friends, and to see them turn away from us—dreadful to find out at last (what we forget all day long) that God knows them already; but more dreadful to know them all ourselves and see our sins in all their shamefulness in the light of God, as God Himself sees them—more dreadful still to see the loving God and the loving Christ turn away from us; but most dreadful of all to turn away from ourselves—to be utterly discontented with ourselves, ashamed of ourselves—to see that all our misery is our own fault, that we have been our own enemies; to despise ourselves and hate ourselves for ever; to try for ever to get rid of ourselves, and escape from ourselves as from some ugly and foul place in which we are ashamed to be seen for a moment, and yet not to be able to get rid of ourselves. Yes, that will be the true misery of a lost soul—to be ashamed of itself and hate itself. Who shall deliver a man from the body of that death?—Charles Kingsley.

How will proud boasters answer?—”For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” What answer will be made to the above words of St. Paul by those proud boasters who glory in a certain imaginary faith, which is lodged, as they presume to say, in the inmost recesses of their hearts, and which is completely to supersede the confession of the mouth? Surely it is the veriest trifling to assert that fire exists where there is neither flame nor heat.—Calvin.

What is to confess Christ?—It is Jesus who is to be confessed. To confess Him is to accept Him as our Saviour, and to say so. It is to profess belief in Him as the Son of God, who died for us, in whom through believing we have eternal life; for all this He said of Himself. It is before men that we are to confess Him (Mat_10:32),—before good men, that our mutual faith may be strengthened; before bad men, that their unbelief may be shaken. How confess Him? Publicly, with our lips. Men who are ever ready to say that they believe in Christ, and never ready to say it openly, in connecting themselves with some branch of His Church, would do well to question their own sincerity. Privately, with our lips. It is a shame for Christians to dwell together, or to often talk together, and never say a loving word about their Saviour. And “not only with our lips, but in our lives.” When? Now and always, in word and in deed. Why just now? Because no other moment belongs to us—because the confession must be made before men; and how soon may we cease from among men!—Robert Westly Peach.

ILLUSTRATIONS TO CHAPTER 10

Rom_10:8. Healing at her own door.—A lady who was very ill went from place to place on the Continent, hoping to recover her health, but all in vain, for she daily grew worse. At last, in despair, she asked a physician what she must do. “Medicine,” replied he, “is useless. You have one chance, and that is to drink the waters of Pit Keathley.” “What?” exclaimed she; “why, those waters are in my own estate!” She went home and recovered her health. Thus salvation is near. The word is nigh thee. The Saviour stands at the door of the heart. “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock.”

The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary (gen. ed. Joseph S. Exell; Funk & Wagnalls, c. 1892) — public domain (pre-1929). A full-Bible homiletical/sermon-outline anthology covering 65 of 66 books (2 John is absent from the source module). Text from a community e-Sword module.

10:5 requires obedience to all of its commands: See Lev 18:5, where these words encouraged the Israelites to obey the law in order to enjoy long life and prosperity in the land that God was giving them (see also Lev 26:3-13; Deut 28:1-14). Paul sees the implication that if people want to be right with God through the law, they can only do so by obeying all of it.

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Rom 10:5. Γράφει, writes of), [thus exhibiting the truth that] “the letter killeth.” It is antithetic to Rom 10:6; Rom 10:8: [the righteousness by faith] speaks, with the living voice [not writes, as Moses]. There is also another similar antithesis: Moses in the concrete; the righteousness which is of faith in the abstract.—ὅτι ὁ ποιήσας, κ.τ.λ.) Lev 18:5, LXX., ποιήσετε αὐτὰ ἁ ποιήσας, κ.τ.λ.

Bengel's Gnomon of the New Testament — English translation (T&T Clark, Edinburgh, 1860) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Rom_10:5. Now follows, as far as Rom_10:10, the proof of Rom_10:4, and that from Moses himself.

γράφει τὴν δικ.] writes concerning righteousness, Joh_1:46; Hermann, ad Eur. Phoen. 574. As to the use of the present tense, comp. the frequent λέγει in scriptural citations.

The passage introduced by the recitative ὅτι is Lev_18:5, almost exactly after the LXX. Comp. Neh_9:29; Eze_20:21; Gal_3:12.

αὐτά] refers in the original, and so also here, to the προστάγματα Θεοῦ, which Paul supposes as well known; but the principal stress lies upon ποιήσας: he who shall have done them, so that thus Moses exhibits the doing as the condition of the attainment of ζωή (which is referred by Paul not to the happy and prosperous life in Palestine, but to its antitype, the ζωὴ αἰώνιος).

ἐν αὐτοῖς] i.e. by the fact, that they are fulfilled.

Meyer — Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament — English translation by Peter Christie, edited by Frederick Crombie (T&T Clark, 1880) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Rom 10:5 . Μωυσῆς γὰρ γράφει : Moses’ authority is unimpeachable on this point. The righteousness that comes from law must be an achievement: the man who has done it shall live in it, Lev 18:5 . Paul writes ἐν αὐτῇ with reference to δικαιοσύνην : the ἐν αὐτοῖς of the LXX refers to πάντα τὰ κρίματα which precedes. Moses, of course, in writing thus did not mock his people; the O.T. religion, though an imperfect, was a real religion, under which men could be right with God. To keep the law of God and live by doing so (Mat 19:17 ) was the natural aim and hope of a true Israelite; only, in this case, the law was not a collection of statutes, but a revelation of God’s character and will, and he who sought to keep it did so not alone, but in conscious dependence on God whose grace was shown above all things else by His gift of such a revelation. Paul, however, is writing with Pharisees and legalists in his eye, and with the remembrance of his own experience as a Pharisee in his heart; and his idea no doubt is that this road leads nowhere. Cf. Gal 3:10-12 . To keep the law thus is an impossibility.

The Expositor's Greek Testament, edited by W. Robertson Nicoll (1897–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Rom_10:5

For Moses describeth the righteousness which is of the law. That is, concerning the righteousness which is of the law, Moses thus writes. In the last clause of the preceding verse it was clearly intimated that faith was the condition of salvation under the gospel. To every one, without distinction, that believeth, is justification secured. On this the apostle connects his description and contrast of the two methods of justification, the one by works and the other by faith, with the design of showing that the former is in its nature impracticable, while the other is reasonable and easy, and adapted to all classes of men, Jews and Gentiles, and should therefore be offered to all.

The righteousness which is of the law. The word righteousness has here its common and proper meaning. It is that which constitutes a man righteous, which meets the demands of the law, or satisfies the claims of justice. The man who is righteous, or who possesses righteousness, cannot be condemned. The apostle in his whole argument proceeds on the assumption that God is just; that he does and must demand righteousness in those whom he justifies. There are but two possible ways in which this righteousness can be obtained by works, or by faith. We must either have a righteousness of our own, or receive and trust in a righteousness which is not our own, but which has been wrought out for us, and presented to us, as the ground of our acceptance with God. The quotation is from Lev_18:5, The man that doeth those things shall live by them. Those things are the things prescribed in the law. It is the clear doctrine of the Scriptures, that obedience to the law, to secure justification, must be perfect. For it is said, Cursed is every one who committeth not in all things written in the book of the law to do them; and, he that offendeth in one point, is guilty of all. It is not necessary that a man who commits murder should also steal, in order to bring him under the penalty of the law. The legal system, then, which defended obedience, required perfect obedience. Those, and those only, who were thus free from sin, should live, i.e. shall enjoy that life which belongs to him as a rational and immortal being. It is a life which includes the whole man, soul and body, and the whole course of his existence, in this world and in that which is to come. Ζήσεται ex mente Judaeorum interpretatur de vita aeterna, ut Targum, Lev_18:4. The Jewish writers also well remark, that Moses says, Qui fecerit ea homo; non dicitur, Sacerdos, Levita, Israelita, sed homo; ut discas, etiam gentilem, si proselytus fiat, et det legi operam, intelligi. See Wetstein.

Charles Hodge — Commentary on Romans (1835), First Corinthians (1857), and Ephesians (1856) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

That the Law regardeth and tendeth to Christ, that is a manifest proof, for that is propoundeth such a condition, as can be and is fulfilled of none but Christ only: which being imputed unto us by faith, our conscience is quieted, so that now no man can ask, Who can ascend up into heaven, or bring us from hell, seeing the Gospel teacheth that both of these is done by Christ, and that for their sakes, which with true faith embrace him which calleth them.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

For Moses describeth the righteousness which is of the law, That the man that doeth--"hath done"

those things--which it commands.

shall live in them-- (Lev 18:5). This is the one way of justification and life--by "the righteousness which is of (or, by our own obedience to) the law."

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 5. For Moses describeth the righteousness which is of the law] The place to which the apostle refers, seems to be Le 18:5: Ye shall therefore keep my statutes and my judgments; which if a man do, he shall live in them. These words seem to be spoken in answer to an objection which might be made by a Jew: "Did not Moses give us a law, the observance of which should secure our salvation?" Such a law Moses undoubtedly gave, and that law promises life to those who perform its precepts: but who can plead for life on this ground, who rejects that Christ who is the end of the law? No man ever did, nor ever can, fulfil that law, so as to merit salvation by the performance of it: for, as all have sinned and come short of the glory of God, they are all under the curse of the law, which says: Cursed is every one who continueth not in all the things that are written in the book of the law to do them, De 27:26; Ga 3:10; therefore by the deeds of this law none can be justified, because all are in a state of condemnation for transgressions already committed against it. If, therefore, there were not such a provision as is made by the death of Christ, no soul could be saved.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

5. For Moses, etc. To render it evident how much at variance is the righteousness of faith and that of works, he now compares them; for by comparison the opposition between contrary things appears more clear. But he refers not now to the oracles of the Prophets, but to the testimony of Moses, and for this reason, — that the Jews might understand that the law was not given by Moses in order to detain them in a dependence on works, but, on the contrary, to lead them to Christ. He might have indeed referred to the Prophets as witnesses; but still this doubt must have remained, “How was it that the law prescribed another rule of righteousness?” He then removes this, and in the best manner, when by the teaching of the law itself he confirms the righteousness of faith.

But we ought to understand the reason why Paul harmonizes the law with faith, and yet sets the righteousness of one in opposition to that of the other: — The law has a twofold meaning; it sometimes includes the whole of what has been taught by Moses, and sometimes that part only which was peculiar to his ministration, which consisted of precepts, rewards, and punishments. But Moses had this common office — to teach the people the true rule of religion. Since it was so, it behooved him to preach repentance and faith; but faith is not taught, except by propounding promises of divine mercy, and those gratuitous: and thus it behooved him to be a preacher of the gospel; which office he faithfully performed, as it appears from many passages. In order to instruct the people in the doctrine of repentance, it was necessary for him to teach what manner of life was acceptable to God; and this he included in the precepts of the law. That he might also instill into the minds of the people the love of righteousness, and implant in them the hatred of iniquity, promises and threatening were added; which proposed rewards to the just, and denounced dreadful punishments on sinners. It was now the duty of the people to consider in how many ways they drew curses on themselves, and how far they were from deserving anything at God’s hands by their works, that being thus led to despair as to their own righteousness, they might flee to the haven of divine goodness, and so to Christ himself. This was the end or design of the Mosaic dispensation.

But as evangelic promises are only found scattered in the writings of Moses, and these also somewhat obscure, and as the precepts and rewards, allotted to the observers of the law, frequently occur, it rightly appertained to Moses as his own and peculiar office, to teach what is the real righteousness of works, and then to show what remuneration awaits the observance of it, and what punishment awaits those who come short of it. For this reason Moses is by John compared with Christ, when it is said,

“That the law was given by Moses, but that grace and truth came by Christ.” (John 1:17.)

And whenever the word law is thus strictly taken, Moses is by implication opposed to Christ: and then we must consider what the law contains, as separate from the gospel. Hence what is said here of the righteousness of the law, must be applied, not to the whole office of Moses, but to that part which was in a manner peculiarly committed to him. I come now to the words.

For Moses describes, etc. Paul has γράφει writes; which is used for a verb which means to describe, by taking away a part of it [ἐπιγράφει.] The passage is taken from Leviticus 18:5, where the Lord promises eternal life to those who would keep his law; for in this sense, as you see, Paul has taken the passage, and not only of temporal life, as some think. Paul indeed thus reasons, — “Since no man can attain the righteousness prescribed in the law, except he fulfills strictly every part of it, and since of this perfection all men have always come far short, it is in vain for any one to strive in this way for salvation: Israel then were very foolish, who expected to attain the righteousness of the law, from which we are all excluded.” See how from the promise itself he proves, that it can avail us nothing, and for this reason, because the condition is impossible. What a futile device it is then to allege legal promises, in order to establish the righteousness of the law! For with these an unavoidable curse comes to us; so far is it, that salvation should thence proceed. The more detestable on this account is the stupidity of the Papists, who think it enough to prove merits by adducing bare promises. “It is not in vain,” they say, “that God has promised life to his servants.” But at the same time they see not that it has been promised, in order that a consciousness of their own transgressions may strike all with the fear of death, and that being thus constrained by their own deficiency, they may learn to flee to Christ.

John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.

(5) For Moses describeth.—The Law required an actual literal fulfilment. Its essence consisted in works. “The man which doeth these things shall live.”

By them.—The true reading is, probably, in it—i.e., the righteousness just mentioned. “The man who doeth this righteousness” (according to a more correct text) “shall live in and by it.”

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

5. For] The connexion is that the Law led up to Christ both by prescribing a condemnatory standard as its own, and by mysteriously suggesting the nearness and freeness of the Gospel.

describeth] Lit. writeth.

That the man, &c.] Lev_18:5. Cp. Deu_27:26; Jer_11:1-10; and, as a commentary, Gal_3:10-13, and the rest of that chapter.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

For. Moses describeth the righteousness which is of the law,.... In this, and some following verses, an account is given of the two righteousnesses before mentioned, called their own and the righteousness of God; and that chiefly in the words of Moses, which is wisely done by the apostle, he and his writings being in great esteem among the Jews. The description he gives of the righteousness of the law, that is, righteousness which the law requires, and is done in obedience to its commands, is,

that the man which doth those things, shall live by them, or "in them"; and which is to be seen in Lev 18:5, "ye shall therefore keep my statutes and my judgments, which if a man do, he shall live in them"; from whence it appears, that by "those things" a man is to do, are meant the statutes and judgments of God, not the ordinances of the ceremonial, but the precepts of the moral law; and that the righteousness of the law lies in "doing" and keeping those statutes, not merely externally, but internally, with all the heart, and soul, and strength; the law requires love to God, fear of him, and faith in him, and an inward disposition of the mind towards him, and a conformity of heart and nature to his law, as well as outward obedience; and all this is to be done perfectly and completely in every punctilio the law requires, otherwise no life is to be expected, nor any righteousness to be had by it. The Jewish writers understand the life promised by the law, to be eternal life. The two Targums of Onkelos and Jonathan ben Uzziel paraphrase the words thus, "he shall live in them", , "in eternal life"; in like manner Jarchi explains them, "he shall live", , "in the world to come"; to which agrees the note of R. Aben Ezra, who interprets it of lie in both worlds; he says the statutes of the law are life to them that do them in both worlds, for if a man understands the secret of them, he shall live for ever, and shall never die. The life which the law promised to Adam in his state of perfection, who was the only mere man that ever was capable of perfectly fulfilling it, was the continuance of the happy life he enjoyed; the life it promised to the Israelites, at the renewing of it on Mount Sinai, was a long and prosperous life in the land of Canaan; as for the promise of eternal life, that was made before the world began, in the covenant of grace, and is a peculiar promise and blessing of that covenant, is an entire gift of God's grace, and never was designed to be enjoyed through men's obedience to the law of works, but through the righteousness and death of Christ, who is the fulfilling end of the law: hence it appears, that as the righteousness of the law is a righteousness of works done by men, it cannot be the righteousness God imputes, for that is without works, and by which a man can be justified before God; and since the law requires internal and perfect obedience to it, it is certain that it cannot be yielded by fallen creatures; hence it follows, that there can be no life, and so no righteousness by it, the consequence of which, when observed by sinful men, horror, terror, and gloomy despair; the very reverse of which is the language of the righteousness of faith.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

5 For Moses describeth the righteousness which is of the law, That the man which doeth those things shall live by them.

Ver. 5. Shall live by them] This do and live; that is, saith Luther, morere, to delay, die out of hand: for there is no man lives and sins not. We can as little cease to sin as the pulse to beat, heart to pant, &c.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

For Moses describeth ... - This is found in Lev 18:5, “Ye shall therefore keep my statutes and my judgments, which if a man do he shall live in them.” This appeal is made to Moses, both in regard to the righteousness of the Law and that of faith, in accordance with the usual manner of Paul to sustain all his positions by the Old Testament, and to show that he was introducing no new doctrine. He was only affirming that which had been long before taught in the writings of the Jews themselves. The word “describeth” is literally writes γράφει graphei, a word often used in this sense.

The righteousness ... - The righteousness which a perfect obedience to the Law of God would produce. That consisted in perfectly doing all that the Law required.

The man which doeth these things - The man who shall perform or obey what was declared in the previous statutes. Moses here had reference to all the commandments which God had given, moral and ceremonial. And the doctrine of Moses is what pertains to all laws, that he who shall render perfect and continued compliance with all the statutes made known, shall receive the reward which the Law promises. This is a first principle of all law; for all law holds a man to be innocent, and, of course, entitled to whatever immunities and rewards it has to confer, until he is proved to be guilty. In this case, however, Moses did not affirm that in fact any one either had yielded or would yield perfect obedience to the Law of God. The Scriptures abundantly teach elsewhere that it never has been done.

Doeth - Obeys, or yields obedience. So also Mat 5:19, “Shall do and teach them.” Mat 7:24, Mat 7:26, “whosoever heareth these sayings ...and doeth them.” Mat 23:3; Mar 3:35; Mar 6:20; Luk 6:46-47, Luk 6:49.

Shall live - Shall obtain felicity. Obedience shall render him happy, and entitled to the rewards of the obedient. Moses doubtless referred here to all the results which would follow obedience. The effect would be to produce happiness in this life and in the life to come. The principle on which happiness would be conferred, would be the same whether in this world or the next. The tendency and result of obedience would be to promote order, health, purity, benevolence; to advance the welfare of man, and the honor of God, and thus must confer happiness. The idea of happiness is often in the Scriptures represented by the word “life”; see the note at Joh 5:24. It is evident moreover that the Jews understood Moses here as referring to more than temporal blessings. The ancient Targum of Onkelos renders the passage in Leviticus thus: “The man who does these things shall live in them to eternal life.” So the Arabic version is, “The retribution of him who works these things is that he shall live an eternal life.”

By them - ἐν αὐτοῖς en autois. In them. In their observance he shall find happiness. Not simply as a result, or reward, but the very act of obeying shall carry its own reward. This is the case with all true religion. This declaration of Moses is still true. If perfect obedience were rendered, it would, from the nature of the case, confer happiness and life as long as the obedience was rendered. God would not punish the innocent. But in this world it never has been rendered, except in the case of the Lord Jesus; and the consequence is, that the course of man has been attended with pain, sorrow, and death.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Moses (Leviticus xviii. 12.) wrote that the justice which is of the law....shall live by it. That is, shall have the recompense of along temporal life, or even an everlasting life, by joining a faith in Christ their Redeemer, that was to come. But the justice which is of faith, speaketh thus, that is, Moses speaketh thus of it, (Deuteronomy xxx.) say not in thy heart, who shall ascend into heaven? &c. the apostle gives us the spiritual sense of the words, by adding, to bring Christ down, &c. The sense is, that it is now fulfilled in the new law, when Christ is come from heaven by his incarnation, and is also again risen from the abyss by his resurrection: and therefore,

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

5. Moses, according to Paul, in the present verse, describes, in quotation of Lev_18:5, the hard way of works, and in 6-9, from Deu_30:11-14, the easy way of faith, in contrast.

Doeth those things—The law justifies only the things done, but makes no allowance, for failure.

Live—The blessed life. (See note on Joh_11:25.)

6-9 St. Paul now assumes that the faith of the New Testament is the faith of the Old Testament. (See notes on Rom_4:23-25.) That deep spirit of heartfelt obedience by which the spiritual Jew of old was earnestly obedient to Jehovah was the same spirit as the Christian faith. It was identical with the Abrahamic faith. (See notes on Rom_4:1-25.) This true faith, in all ages, in all lands, Jewish or Gentile, is the heart-centred spring of all obedience to right and to God, who is the impersonation of right. And when Christ, the image of God, is presented, as he truly is, to such faith, he is accepted. Hence Paul is right in holding that Moses in the words quoted truly describes the Christian faith.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

For Moses describeth the righteousness which is of the Law, That the man which doeth those things shall live by (literally, in) them. (Lev_18:5) This quotation is intended to express, in the words of Moses himself, the principle of Law, viz. the requirement of entire observance of it, such as the apostle elsewhere contends is impossible. (cf. Gal_3:10-12) It may be objected that Moses himself, in the original passage, does not seem to be setting forth any such impossible requirement. He says, in the name of the Lord, "Ye shall therefore keep my statutes and my judgments, which, if a man do, he shall live in them;" implying, it would seem, that a man might so keep them as to live in them; else were the injunction delusive. In the quotation also of the same text in Eze_20:11, Eze_20:13, 21 and Neh_9:29, only such a requirement as might have been fulfilled appears to be understood. But St. Paul (as appears from the context, and from Gal_3:12, where the text is similarly cited) refers to it as expressing the strict principle of law, as above defined. It, then, the text, in its original connection, seems to fall short of the sense put upon it, we may understand the apostle to quote it as a well-known one, sufficiently suggestive, if taken, as he intends it to be, in connection with others, such as Deu_27:26, cited with it in Gal_3:10, "Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the Law to do them." It is his way to refer to familiar texts, or such as most readily occur to him, as suggestive of Old Testament ideas which he expects his readers to be acquainted with. Calvin"s remarks on this whole passage deserve attention: "Lex bifariam accipitur. Nunc enim significat universam doctrinam a Mose proditam, nunc pattern illam quae ministerii ejus propria erat; quae scilicet praeceptis, praemis, et poenis continetur Quod ergo hic de justitia Legis dicitur referre convenit non ad totam Mosis functionem, sed ad partem istam quae peculiariter quodammodo ei commissa fuit." His drift is, that the passage before us intimates the strict principle of law, which it was the peculiar function of Moses to promulgate, whereas the passage which follows from Deuteronomy is significant of its universa doctrina. This distinction may help us to understand St. Paul"s drift, in referring, as he proceeds to do, to Deu_30:11-14. The determination of this drift is attended with some difficulty. First, we observe that, whereas the original passage certainly refers to the Law given to the Israelites through Moses to the same "statutes and judgments" that were the subject of the previous quotation St. Paul applies it to describe justification through faith in Christ; and, secondly, that, in order to apply it, he alters some parts of it, and interposes comments of his own. One view is that he is only making a free-use of the words of the passage to clothe his own thoughts. So Bengel: "Ad hunc locum quasi parodia suavissime alludit, sine expressa allegatione." But his obvious intention, here as elsewhere, to support his positions from the old Scriptures surely precludes this view. Nor can he be supposed to cite the passage as simply prophetical of the gospel which was to supersede the Law, since it evidently was not so. The proper view seems to be that he adduces it as illustrating, in the first place. what Calvin calls the universa doetrina of the Law itself, with regard to its actual application as a norma vivendi to the needs of man. Here, he would say, the very Mosaic dispensation is presented to us, not as exacting any impossible obedience to the strict behests of law, but only such as the "circumcised in heart" could render, and be accepted still; it is presented to us, not as a rigid external code, enjoining and threatening, but as a word very nigh unto us, even in our heart, that we may do it; it is, in fact, an anticipation and foreshadowing of gospel salvation. In confirmation of this view of the apostle"s meaning, it is to be observed that the passage occurs, not in the earlier books of Moses, but in Deuteronomy, which appears as an appendix to them, containing for the most part long discourses in the style of the prophets, wherein the Law is, as it were, spiritualized, and its universa doctrina opened out. In it we feel ourselves as rising out of the region of strict legal exaction into a higher and more spiritual one. Observe also that the passage before us is based on the idea of a people circumcised in heart, and loving the Lord with all the heart and all the soul (vers. 6, 20); on an ideal view of a state of favour and acceptance never realized in Jewish history, but such as we find often in the prophetic writings. (cf. Jer_31:31-34, the famous passage referred to more than once in the New Testament as having its eventual fulfilment in Christ) Thus the passage before us is legitimately referred to by St. Paul, as an intimation in the Pentateuch itself of the "righteousness which is of faith.

Vers. 5-10. Gracious terms of salvation.

The blessings of the gospel were designed for, and were offered to, Jews and Gentiles alike, with the most perfect impartiality. The descendants of Abraham, the disciples of Moses, did indeed enjoy an advantage; but, instead of profiting by it, they turned it against themselves. The apostle here teaches that if any of his kinsmen and countrymen come short of Christian privilege, the fault is their own, and cannot be laid to the Divine Author. St. Paul so presents the gospel as to exhibit

I ITS CONTRAST TO THE LAW. The former dispensation promised life to those who obeyed the Law. By life is meant more than continuance of existence and national and territorial advantages; the expression conveys the promise of Divine favour and acceptance. Perfect obedience would secure life; but such obedience no Hebrew, and indeed no mortal man, has rendered. The old covenant did indeed assure to the upright and pious Jew the blessings of salvation, and enjoined obedience upon all its sons. But it was only human pride and self-righteousness which could deem the life of even the holiest such as to merit the favour and fellowship of God. Christianity, on the other hand, provides all spiritual blessings as a free gift the gift of grace.

II ITS SIMPLICITY AND ACCESSIBILITY. To exhibit this, the apostle borrows language from the Book of Deuteronomy. What the Lord, by Moses, said of the commandment published to Israel, that Paul says of the gospel. The Divine righteousness speaks; and what is its message to men?

1. It is a message which gently reproaches those who complain of the difficulty of understanding and realizing the will of God. How especially does this apply to Christianity! We have not to soar to heaven, or to plunge into the abyss; for Christ, the Son of God, has condescended to come down from the celestial heights that he might dwell among us; he has risen from the dead, conquering sin and death for us, and leading us in the way to God. Thus the Lord has deigned to make the truth of God intelligible, and the grace of God real and near.

2. But the Divine righteousness, speaking, assures us of the nearness of the Word of life to the hearers of the gospel, personally and individually. How could the word which quickeneth be nearer, more accessible? It is "in the mouth, and in the heart," of every Christian. Pause to think how true this is. Your English Bible is in your hands; the gospel is preached at your own doors; the creeds, the prayers, the thanksgivings, are framed and uttered in your own familiar speech; the name of Jesus is a household word; the simplest can understand the message of the gospel, the terms of life eternal; the child, the unlearned, the feeble, the aged, appreciate the truth as it is in Jesus; Christianity gains many a convert from among the poor, the vicious, the very heathen. All this is a testimony to the Divine adaptation of the gospel to human nature; it meets our deepest wants and supplies them, it creates its own witness by its own success.

III THE TERMS IT PROPOUNDS. They are two.

1. Faith as this whole Epistle tells, and tells again and yet again. The righteousness is of faith; "with the heart man believeth." A provision which attests the infinite wisdom of him who made it. The condition is one which can be fulfilled by men of every rank and age and culture; yet it is one profoundly affecting the moral and spiritual nature. It is profitable to man and honouring to God.

2. Confession a condition, doubtless, very different in the apostles" days from our own, but, as the Lord teaches us, ever indispensable. Men have not the right to say in what way confession shall be made. But it must not be withheld.

IV THE BLESSINGS IT SECURES. These also are two.

1. Righteousness the new, Divine, Christian righteousness, that which is the gift of God; a righteousness which is by grace, but which is real, genuine, and eternal.

2. Salvation by which we are to understand the final and complete enjoyment of what the gospel brings and promises. The end of your faith is the salvation of your souls. It is not only deliverance from sin and danger; it is the participation in the Divine nature, and in the eternal life.

APPLICATION. Let the hearer of the gospel think, not merely of the mysteries which belong to religion, but of the simplicity of what is most essential for him to believe. You have not to climb a lofty tree in order to pluck the fruit; the bough hangs low, and you have but to reach out your hand. You have not to climb the mountain crag, and cross the dangerous bog, in order to come at the water of life; the stream flows by your side, and you have but to stoop and drink.

Vers. 5-13. The simplicity of the gospel.

The apostle here contrasts the simplicity of God"s plan of salvation with the efforts which men have made to work out a righteousness for themselves. Salvation is gained

I NOT BY OUR OWN GOOD WORKS. "Moses describeth the righteousness which is of the Law, That the man who doeth those things shall live by them" (ver. 5). If this were the condition of salvation, how hopeless would our condition be! None of us could say that we had made ourselves free from sin, or that our works were perfect and faultless, or that we had fully and faithfully kept all the commandments of God. "Not what these hands have done Could save this guilty soul; Not what this toiling flesh hath borne Could make my spirit whole.

II NOR BY MIRACULOUS INTERVENTION. "Say not in thine heart, Who shall ascend into heaven? (that is, to bring Christ down from above:) or, Who shall descend into the deep?" (vers. 6, 7). The desire which is here expressed still survives. Not content with the Word of God and the invisible, but real, spiritual presence of Jesus with his Church, and the power of the Holy Spirit, many zealous Christians think it is necessary to have a more visible manifestation of the supernatural. Hence we have the doctrine of the real presence; alleged appearances of the blessed Virgin at Lourdes and at Knock; and, on the other hand, an undue stress laid upon the second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. "If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead.

III BUT BY THE PERSONAL RECEPTION AND CONFESSION OF JESUS CHRIST,

1. The Holy Scriptures are the means used to bring this salvation near to us. "The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach" (ver. 8). In contrast with ceremonial or legal observances, in contrast with all miraculous appearances, the apostle here magnifies the reading and preaching of the gospel as the Divine method for the salvation of souls. "The Spirit of God maketh the reading, but especially the preaching of the Word, an effectual means of convincing and converting sinners, and of building them up in holiness and comfort, through faith unto salvation.

2. Faith, which is the condition of salvation, is an act of the human mind. Not by bodily labours or sufferings, not by appearances to our bodily senses, but by the Spirit of God and the Word of God working upon our spirits, and producing faith in us, do we receive salvation. "With the heart man believeth unto righteousness" (ver. 10). It is to the spiritual and not to the bodily nature that the appeal of religion is to be made. It is the spiritual and not the bodily nature that we must cultivate if we would see the kingdom of God.

3. Yet this faith will have an outward manifestation,. "With the mouth confession is made unto salvation" (ver. 10). If our faith in Christ is real, it will show itself. We shall not be ashamed to make public acknowledgment of him.

4. Thus salvation is brought within the reach of every one. "The same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him. For whosoever shall call upon the Name of the Lord shall be saved" (vers. 12, 13). This plan of salvation brings the gospel to the Gentile as well as to the Jew. "For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek" (ver. 12). Wherever there is a heart seeking after God, that soul need not wait to work out a righteousness for itself. "Whosoever shall call upon the Name of the Lord shall be saved." What a contrast the simplicity of the gospel is to all human systems of religion and all man-made methods of salvation! The more we keep to the Word of God, and the less we mingle with it human tradition and ecclesiastical shibboleths, the more shall we be blessed in bringing souls to Christ. C.H.I.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

For Moses describeth the only righteousness which is attainable by the law, when he saith, The man who doeth these things shall live by them - that is, he that perfectly keeps all these precepts in every point, he alone may claim life and salvation by them. But this way of justification is impossible to any who have ever transgressed any one law in any point. Lev. xviii, 5

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

The universality of the righteousness of faith proved by the Old Testament:

v. 5. For Moses describeth the righteousness which is of the Law, that the man which doeth those things shall live by them.

v. 6. but the righteousness which is of faith speaketh on this wise, Say not in thine heart, Who shall ascend into heaven? (that is, to bring Christ down from above;)

v. 7. or, Who shall descend into the deep? (that is, to bring up Christ again from the dead.)

v. 8. But what saith it? The Word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth and in thy he art, that is, the Word of faith, which we preach;

v. 9. that if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.

v. 10. For with the he art man believeth unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

The apostle had clearly shown that faith in the righteousness provided by God was at all times a condition of salvation. And he now brings proof from the Old Testament which clearly indicates that Moses taught the distinction between the two forms of righteousness. For Moses writes concerning the righteousness of the Law, Lev 18:5, that the man who doeth it will live in it. Every person that keeps all the commandments and precepts of the Law perfectly will by that token obtain life, the true, eternal life, Deu 27:26; Gal 3:10; Jas 2:10; Luk 10:28. That is the prerequisite, the one condition upon which salvation depends: perfect obedience to the Law. Not, indeed, as though any person had ever been saved by the keeping of the Law, for the simple reason that no one, since the fall of Adam, ever did fulfill its precepts. The righteousness of the Law does not exist in reality, but is a demand of God upon all men, a condition of salvation, just as Moses writes of it in the passage quoted. Moses describes the righteousness of the Law, but he does not assert that it exists in any human being. If a person thus understands the situation, he will despair of the righteousness of the Law and turn to the righteousness of faith as the one possibility of being saved.

This contrast is brought out in the next verses, where the content of Deu 30:11-14 is brought in a free rendering. But the righteousness which is of faith has this to say, the righteousness which God imputes by faith describes its own character in words taken from the writings of Moses, but applied to the situation as created by the work of Christ. The advice which this righteousness gives, is this: Do not say in thine heart: Who will ascend up into heaven? or: Who will descend into the abyss? That the righteousness of the Law, by means of works, is unattainable, the words of Moses had implied. But how about the righteousness of faith? No one should have the idea or propose to himself: Who will go up into heaven, in order to get Christ down from heaven? Who will go down into the deep, into the place of the dead, to fetch Christ from the dead? Such desponding and anxious inquiries are altogether foolish. It is not necessary to go to all that trouble, it is not required to fetch Christ from a great distance, for He is not so unattainable. On the contrary, the Redeemer is present; Christ has come down from heaven, He has arisen from the dead for the salvation of all men; He has done His work on earth and fulfilled the righteousness of the Law. In and with Christ perfect righteousness has been gained for all men. And therefore the righteousness of faith has a bold and joyful admonition: Near to thee is the Word, in thy mouth and in thy heart: this is the Word of the faith which we proclaim. For Christ, of whom he has spoken in the first part of his admonition, Paul substitutes the Word of the Gospel, the Word which had been entrusted to him to proclaim, the Word of faith, which should simply be believed, whose content, Jesus Christ, should be accepted by faith. Christ and His full salvation is always present with us, in the Gospel message which is proclaimed, in the Scriptures which are read, in the texts from the Bible which are memorized. And nothing more is needed than faith in this Word, assent to its content, and confidence in its promises.

The apostle further explains this statement and applies it to the average believer in his life: Because, if thou with thy mouth confess Jesus Christ, and believest in thine heart that God has raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved; for with the heart one believes unto righteousness, but with the mouth one confesses unto salvation. Faith and confession are here mentioned as the two requisites for salvation. So near is the redemption of Jesus to every person in the world, in the Word of the Gospel-message, that it is necessary only to believe with the heart and to confess with the mouth in order to become a partaker of all its blessings. If any person believes in his heart and confesses with his mouth that Jesus is the Lord and that God has raised Him from the dead, then he has the faith which will give him salvation. Note that Paul here represents Jesus the Lord as the summary and content of the Gospel, of faith and salvation. The thought is so important for every person in the wide world that Paul repeats it in a parallel sentence, placing a heart believing unto righteousness and a mouth making confession unto salvation side by side. The faith of the heart is sufficient for the attainment of righteousness, and the confession of the mouth is sufficient for the attainment of salvation. The faith of the heart, as expressed in the confession of the mouth, brings righteousness and salvation to the believer, and no work and merit will have this result. Just as the heart and the mouth are mentioned together, so faith and confession cannot be separated: faith must find its expression in the confession of the mouth. "The faith of the heart, followed by the confession of the mouth, results in righteousness and salvation. " Paul is speaking of a true and living faith, not of a hypocritical makeshift and substitute. In Christ, in the Word of salvation, God has brought salvation to all men, and He recognizes only that confidence of the heart which, by His working, actually appropriates the redemption and makes an open confession of that fact before all men.

Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

As if the apostle had said, "Righteousness by faith can never be obtained by the works of the law, because Moses describeth the righteousness of the law thus, That the man that doeth these things, shall live by them; that is, a prosperous and happy life in the land of Canaan, say some; and eternal life in heaven, say others." But then the law must be understood the moral, not the ceremonial law, according to that of our Saviour, If thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments; that is, the moral law. This do, and thou shalt live.

Where note, That such as seek justification and salvation by the works of the law, must keep the moral law perfectly and exactly; which being impossible to man in his fallen estate, Christ has obtained of his Father, that, for the sake of his righteousness, our sincere, though imperfect obedience, should find acceptance with God, and be available to salvation.

William Burkitt's Expository Notes on the New Testament (1700–1703) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

5. “For Moses thus describes the righteousness which is from law, which a man having done, shall live in the same.” None but the unfallen angels and Adam in Eden ever could keep the perfect law and have spiritual life in so doing. Hence, after the Fall, there has never been a human being on the earth, except Jesus of Nazareth, who was competent to keep the law. He kept it for all of us, and we, by perfect submission and doubtless faith, avail ourselves of His substitutionary obedience, actively in life and passively in death, to perfectly satisfy the law in our behalf, Opening the pearly gates to our happy ingress.

William B. Godbey, Commentary on the New Testament (1896–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

For Moses [the lawgiver] writeth that the man that doeth the righteousness which is of the law shall live thereby . [ Lev_18:5 . (Comp. Neh_9:29 ; Eze_20:11 ; Eze_20:13 ; Eze_20:21 ; Luk_16:27-29 ; Gal_3:12 ) The context indicates that the life promised is merely the possession of the land of Canaan ( Lev_18:26-29 ); but Tholuck observes that "among the later Jews, we find the notion widely diffused that the blessings promised likewise involve those of eternal life. Orkelos translates: 'Whosoever keeps these commandments, shall thereby live in the life eternal.' And in the Targums of the Pseudo-Jonathan, Moses' words are rendered: 'Whosoever fulfils the commandments shall thereby live in the life eternal, and his portion shall be with the righteous.'" Paul evidently construes it as being a promise of eternal life. (Comp. Luk_18:18-20 ) But no man could keep the law. Was, then, the promise of God ironical? By no means. The law taught humble men the need of grace and a gospel, and for all such God had foreordained a gospel and an atoning Christ. But to the proud, the self-righteous, the Pharisaical who would merit heaven rejecting grace and the gospel, the promise was ironical, for "doeth . . . live," implies that whoso fails, dies ( Deu_27:26 ; Gal_3:10 ; Jam_2:10 ). There was, then, righteousness by the law, and such as bad it were ripe for the gospel which it foreshadowed, especially in its continual sacrificial deaths for sin; but there was no self-righteousness by the law, and those who strove for it invariably rejected Christ. Those seeking life by law supplemented by grace found in Jesus that fullness of grace which redeemed from law, but those seeking life by law without grace, failed and were hardened-- Rom_11:5-7 ]

J. W. McGarvey (with Philip Y. Pendleton), Commentaries on the New Testament (The Fourfold Gospel, 1914; Acts; and the epistles) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

5–11. For Moses describeth the righteousness of the law. Paul now shows the Jews who cling to the law that the law itself is against the law as a way of securing righteousness. Moses writeth. In Lev. 18:5. That doeth the righteousness, etc. He who keeps the law in all respects blameless shall have life. But Paul has elsewhere shown that no one can keep the law perfectly. That righteousness, then, requires a perfect obedience, a sinless life. What Jew could say that he had never sinned?

B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.

5–15. The reasonableness of such a submission is shown, and the relation of Christ to law explained, by the contrast between righteousness when sought as result of law, and righteousness resulting from faith. For the former S. Paul quotes Moses as laying down authoritatively that such righteousness can be attained only by complete obedience to law; and that has been shown to be so difficult as to be impossible (cc. 3, 7). For the latter S. Paul, while using O. T. language, does not quote it as authoritative, but freely adapts it to his purpose, using it because it is familiar and on his general principle of the fundamental unity of thought in O. T. and the Gospel; cf. S. H. for a full discussion.

5. ὁ ποιήσας κ.τ.λ. = Lev 18:5, LXX[201] (ἅ). The stress is on ὁ. π. he that has done it, and he alone. ἐν αὐτῇ, ‘by it.’

[201] LXX. the Septuagint Version of the Old Testament

Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges (Cambridge University Press, 1896; 21 vols, various authors incl. Carr, Maclear, Plummer, Farrar, Lumby, Moule, M. R. James, Simcox) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

5.] For (proof of the impossibility of legal righteousness, as declared even in the law itself) Moses describes (reff.) the righteousness which is of (abstr.—not implying that it has ever been attained, but rather presupposing the contrary) the law, that (ὅτι recitantis, not γράφ. ὅτι, in which case we should have αὐτήν. The eam of some versions has apparently arisen from misunderstanding ὅτι) the man who hath done them (the ordinances of the law) shall live in (in the strength of, by means of, as his status) it (the righteousness accruing by such doing of them).

As regards the life here promised, the Jewish interpreters themselves included in it more than mere earthly felicity in Canaan, and extended their view to a better life hereafter: see Wetst. in loc. Earthly felicity it doubtless did impart, compare Deu 30:20; but even there, as Thol. observes, ‘life’seems to be a general promise, and length of days a particular species of felicity. “In the N. T.,” he continues, “this idea (of life) is always exalted into that of life blessed and eternal:—see Mat 7:14; Mat 18:8, Mat 18:9; Luk 10:28.”

Henry Alford, The Greek Testament (1849–1861) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

5-10. St. Paul proceeds to describe the two modes of obtaining δικαιοσύνη in language drawn from the O. T., which had become proverbial.

5. Μωσῆς γὰρ γράφει κ.τ.λ. Taken from Lev 18:5, which is quoted also in Gal 3:12. The original (ἃ ποιήσας ἄνθρωπος ζήσεται ἐν αὐτοῖς) is slightly modified to suit the grammar of this passage, τὴν δικαιοσύνην τὴν ἐκ νόμου being made the object of ποιήσας. St. Paul quotes the words to mean that the condition of obtaining life by law is that of fulfilment, a condition which in contrast to the other method described immediately afterwards is hard, if not impossible. On this difficulty of obeying the law he has laid stress again and again in the first part of the Epistle, and it is this that he means by τὸν νόμον τῶν ἐντολῶν in Eph 2:15 (quoted above).

ζήσεται: shall obtain life in its deepest sense both here and hereafter (see pp. 180, 196).

There are a number of small variations in the text of this verse. (1) ὅτι is placed before τὴν δικαιοσύνην by א* A D*, Vulg. Boh., Orig.-lat., after νόμου by אc B Dc E F G K L P &c., Syrr., Chrys. Thdrt. &c. (2) ἐκ νόμου is read by א B, ἐκ τοῦ νόμου by the mass of later authorities. (3) ὁ ποιήσας is read without any addition by א* A D E, Vulg., Orig.-lat., αὐτά is added by B F G K L P &c., Syrr., Chrys. Thdrt. &c., eam by d**e†. (4) ἄνθρωπος is om. by F G, Chrys. (5) ἐν αὐτῇ is read by א A B minusc. pauc., Vulg. Boh. Orig.-lat., ἐν αύτοῖς D E F G K L R &c. Syrr., Chrys. Thdrt. &c.

The original text was ὅτι τὴν δικαιοσύνην τὴν ἐκ νόμου ὁ ποιήσας ἄνθρωπος ζήσεται ἐν αὐτῇ. The alteration of αὐτά … αὐτοῖς came from a desire to make the passage correspond with the LXX, or Gal 3:12 (hence the omission of ἄνθρωπος), and this necessitated a change in the position of ὅτι. τοῦ νόμου arose from an early misinterpretation. The mixed text of B γράφει τὴν δικαιοσύνην τὴν ἐκ νόμου ὅτι ὁ ποιήσας αὐτὰ ἄνθρωπος ζήσεται ἐν αὐτῇ and of D γράφει ὅτι τὴν δικαιοσύνην τὴν ἐκ τοῦ νομοῦ ὁ ποιήσας ἄνθρωπος ζήσεται ἐν αὐτοῖς are curious, but help to support א A Vulg. Boh.

International Critical Commentary — older volumes (1896–1929), various authors — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Describeth the righteousness - that [γραφει την δικαιοσυνην - οτι] . The best texts transfer oti that, and read grafei oti, etc. Moses writeth that the man, etc. See Lev 18:5.

Those things - by them [αυτα - εν αυτοις] . Omit those things, and read for ejn aujtoiv by them, ejn aujth by it, i e., the righteousness which is of the law. The whole, as Rev., Moses writeth that the man that doeth the righteousness which is of the law shall live thereby.

Marvin R. Vincent, Word Studies in the New Testament (1887–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Vv. 5. “For Moses describeth the righteousness which is of the law thus: The man who hath done [the law], shall live by it.”

In this translation we have followed, for the first of the three variants indicated in the note, the reading of the T. R., which is supported not only by the Byz. documents, but also by the Vatic. and the two ancient Latin and Syriac versions. It is easy to explain the origin of the other reading which has transposed the ὁτι, that, by placing it immediately after the verb γραφει, writes; it seemed that it should run: Moses writes that. As to the second variant, the authorities in favor of the T. R. (“he that hath done those things”) are somewhat less strong, and especially it is probable that this object αὐτά (those things) was added under the influence of the text of the LXX.; no reason can be imagined why this word should have been rejected. With regard to the third, we think the T. R. must also be abandoned, which reads at the end of the verse ἐν αὐτοις, by them (those things), and prefer the reading ἐν αὐτῇ, by it (this righteousness). This last reading has on its side the same reasons which have decided us in regard to the second variant, and the authority of the Vaticanus besides.

Accordingly, the object of the verb γράφει, writes, is not the saying of Moses quoted afterward, but the words: the righteousness which is of the law, so that we must here take the word γράφειν, with Calvin, in the sense of describe (Moses describit): “Moses thus describes this way for him who would follow it.” Then (second variant) the participle: he who has done, must be taken in an absolute sense; for it has no expressed object; comp. Rom 4:4 (he that worketh, ὁ ἐργαζόμενος), literally: “He who has acted” (in contrast to him who has believed). In the translation we have been obliged to supply an object; that object is: what there was to be done, consequently the law. Finally, the ἐν αὐτῇ, by it, which we adopt (third variant), refers evidently to the whole phrase: “the righteousness which is of the law.” This would be the means of salvation and life to him who should really do (the law).

But if it is certain that this way is impracticable for fallen man, how is it to be explained that Moses seriously proposed it to the people of God? Or must it be thought that there was here a sort of irony: “Try, and thou shalt see that it is too hard for thee.” It is enough to reperuse the passage of the law, Lev 18:5, to be convinced that the latter cannot be the sense in which this invitation was addressed to the people by the lawgiver. Now, if this exhortation and promise were serious, the way thus traced out was practicable. And, in fact, the law of Jehovah rightly understood was not given independently of His grace. The law, taken in the full sense of the word, contained an entire provision of means of grace unceasingly offered to the pious Israelite. From the moment he sinned, he could have recourse humbly to the pardon of his God, either with or without sacrifice, as the case might be; comp. Psa 51:16-17 : “Thou delightest not in sacrifice...; the sacrifice of God is a broken spirit;” Rom 10:10-12 : “Create in me a clean heart, O God; let the spirit of freedom uphold me...; restore unto me the joy of Thy salvation.” The law thus humbly understood and sincerely applied was certainly the way of salvation for the believing Jew; it led him to an ever closer communion with God, as we find exemplified so often in the O. T., and what was yet wanting to this theocratic pardon and salvation was to be granted one day in the Messianic pardon and salvation which closed the perspective of the national hope. There was nothing, then, more serious for the Israelite who understood and applied the law in its true spirit and in its full breadth than the saying of Moses. But, unfortunately, there was another way of understanding the law and using it. It was possible to take the law in a narrower sense, solely in the form of command, and to make this institution thus understood a means of self-righteousness, and of proud complacency in self-merit. Such was the spirit which reigned in Israel at the time when Paul wrote, and particularly that of the school in which he had been brought up. Pharisaism, separating the commandment from grace, deemed that its fulfilment, realized by man’s own strength, was the true title to divine favor. It is against this point of view that Paul here turns the law itself. He takes it as it is regarded by those whom he wishes to convince, as simple law, nuda lex (Calvin), law properly so called. And he reasons thus: “You wish to be justified by your own doing. Well! But in that case let your doing be complete! If your obedience is to make you live, it must be worthy of Him to whom it is offered.” Such is the hopeless pass into which the apostle had himself been driven by the law thus understood and practised, and into which he drives the Pharisees of his time. If man wishes to raise the edifice of his own righteousness, let him take out every element of grace in the law; for the instant he has recourse to grace for little or for much, it is all over with work: “work is no more work” (Rom 11:6). This is probably also the reason why the apostle expresses himself as he does according to the true reading, saying, not: “Moses writes that”..., but: “Moses thus describes the righteousness of the law, to wit, that”...The intention of Moses was not to urge to such righteousness. But in his saying there is formulated the programme of a righteousness that is of the law “as law.” If the law be once reduced to commandment, the saying of Leviticus certainly implies a mode of justification such as that of which the apostle speaks. Calvin is therefore right in saying: Lex bifariam accipitur; that is to say, the law may be regarded in two aspects, according as we take the Mosaic institution in its fulness, comprehending therein the elements of grace which belonged to it in view of a previous justification and a real sanctification, or as we lose these elements of grace out of view to fasten only on the commandment and turn it to the satisfaction of human pride.

Frédéric Louis Godet — Commentaries on Luke, John, Romans, and 1 Corinthians — English translation (T&T Clark, Edinburgh, 1870s–1890s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.